Clarke's Third Law
by tinyrose65
Summary: Muggles say that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Rose Weasley would beg to differ. So what happens when this witch meets the last of the Time Lords? Things become a tad confusing and more than a bit fantastic (AU snapshots of series 1 and 2).
1. Sticks and Stones

**Title: **Clarke's Third Law

**Author: **tinyrose65

**Summary: **Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. So what happens when witch meets scientist? Things become a tad confusing. And more than a bit fantastic. Doctor/Rose

**AN**: Alright, so this is the first chapter of my new series, which will basically be a Doctor Who/Harry Potter crossover, with Rose Weasley replacing Rose Tyler, and another other appropriate changes like this. The story will span from Season 1 to the end of Season 2 (So spoilers! Beware!) and will really be more like a collection of one-shots, drabbles, short stories, and rewrites of certain episodes, all set under the same title. So, enjoy and on with the story!**  
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><p><em>Meeting<em>

"I've got a secret!" came a singsong voice by her head. Rose jumped, books and papers flying everywhere. Shareen Costella, a Gryffindor in her year, smiled at her. Madam Pince, the now _ancient_ librarian, fixed them both with a stern glare. Rose gave her an apologetic smile. When she turned away, Rose shot the taller girl a glare.

"Are you trying to get me expelled?" she whispered crossly. Shareen rolled her eyes and plopped down into the seat next to her.

"Like they'd ever expel Rose _Weasley._" Rose grimaced as, once again, her family's legacy was brought up. She huffed.

"You need somethin'?" Rose asked, impatiently. Shareen was nice enough, but the girl could talk for all of England.

"I told you," Shareen repeated, "I've got a secret."

"And what?" Rose asked, closing her books and giving up all pretenses of studying. "I'm supposed t'guess what it is?"

"No, you're supposed to ask me straight out."

Rose blinked and was reminded of why she never spent much time with the muggleborn. She decided to play along. "Will you tell me what it is, then?"

"Somebody likes you," Shareen said cheerfully. Rose couldn't hide her interest at this and didn't even bother trying.

"Who?"

Shareen grinned at her, triumphant. "Jimmy Stone."

Rose let out a low whistle, before studiously avoiding Madam Pince's eye. Jimmy Stone was, like her, in seventh year at Hogwarts. He was in Hufflepuff, though, so she knew very little of him other than the fact that he was very popular, a very good Chaser, and _very _gorgeous.

"How'd ya know?"

"I heard his mate Mickey talking to his girl Trisha who told Keisha who told me!"

"Right," Rose said, nodding sagely, "straight from the horse's mouth."

"C'mon Rose," Shareen begged.

"You're just sayin' that 'cause you've got a thing for his brother." Rose deadpanned. Shareen made a face.

"'Course not! I'm thinkin' about you!"

"No you ain't.."

"Fine," Shareen conceded. "but you can't deny that his brother is a bit of all right!"

Rose couldn't help but grin cheekily. _That_ was a point that nobody could deny. Even some of the professor's had been known to fall prey to Ryan's trademark dimples. Jimmy might not have had the same charm as his brother, but there was something equally appealing about him. Rose bit her lip made her decision.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Shareen called out over the cheering. Shareen had managed to drag her out to the Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Gryffindor had won (How could they not? With her cousin Al as Seeker?), but Rose wasn't headed to the party that was sure to take place in the common room. Instead, Shareen had given her a good, hard shove towards the Hufflepuff locker room to wait for the team to finish getting changed.

_Jimmy Stone. Changing. Merlin's beard._

"Can I help you?"

Rose felt her face flush red as Jimmy himself appeared. "'ello," she greeted cheerfully.

He smiled at her. "Hello. Rose, right?"

Rose smiled, despite the small pang she felt in her chest. He _knew_ who she was; of course he did. She could give him points for pretending otherwise, though.

"That's right," she told him, brushing her blonde hair away from her face. "And you're Jimmy. You played a great game today."

"We still lost," he grimaced. "Not that anybody can really win a game against Gryffindor these days. Not with your cousin Al as Seeker. He's brilliant."

"He takes after his dad," Rose shrugged it off.

"But it begs the question," he continued, a smirk on his face as he walked closer to her, "what are you doing here? You should be celebrating."

"I should be," she admitted, "but then I thought that it'd be pretty selfish of me. Thought maybe you could use some consolin'."

"I have been devastated by the loss," he told her.

"Yeah, I can tell," she told him, mock seriously. The smile on his face got larger. "Good thing I've got the perfect remedy, though. How's a butterbeer next weekend at the Three Broomsticks sound?"

"If thats what I get for losing, I don't think I ever want to win a game again. House Cup be damned."

* * *

><p><em>First Date<em>

"How do I look?" Rose twirled theatrically for her cousin, Lily. Lily looked up from her magazine and gave her friend an appraising look.

"I like it," she nodded, approvingly. She frowned. "Keep your hair down, though. Looks better that way."

Rose obliged. "Where's your brother, anyways?"

"Downstairs, doing something or other," Lily waved it off. "Probably keeping your brother company."

"Whad'ya think they talk about?" Rose asked, the thought suddenly coming to her. Lily shrugged, once again unconcerned.

"I wouldn't worry about it-at least, not now. You're going to be late to your _date_ if you don't leave soon."

"I'm goin', I'm goin'." She muttered, grabbing her bag and her wand before heading out the door of the dorm. She paused in the common room. Sure enough, Al and Hugo sat huddled in the corner. Rose recognized the Marauder's Map spread out between them. She rolled her eyes and sauntered towards them

"If you're plotting to mess up my date with Jimmy, I'll kill you, yeah?"

"We've got better things to do then mess up your date with that idiot," Hugo denied, scribbling something down on a piece of notepaper. Rose frowned at him.

"Just 'cause he doesn't have your brains, don't mean he's an idiot. 'Sides, by that logic, I'd be an idiot, too. Is that what you're saying?"

"Of course not, Rose," Hugo muttered, not looking up at her. Rose's draw dropped indignantly and she turned to glare at Albus, who was watching the entire thing, obviously amused.

"He does think I'm an idiot, don't he?" she demanded crossly, her hands resting menacingly on her hips. Al eyed her warily, knowing that she could cast a hex like no other, a trait she happened to get from her mother (along with her looks...how she had managed to evade the trademark "Weasley Hair" was still a mystery).

"Nobody here thinks you're an idiot, Rosie," he assured her. He nudged Hugo firmly with his elbow. "Right, Hugo?"

Hugo finally took the opportunity to look up from whatever prank he was planning. Taking in his sister's angry scowl, he gulped. "O'course not! By the way," he said, quickly changing the subject, "you look lovely."

"Yeah," Al said, catching on, and nodding enthusiastically, "very lovely. But if you keep hanging around here, Jimmy will never get a chance to see for himself."

Rose let out a string of curses that would have had her mother washing her mouth out with soap had she heard. Al and Hugo exchanged amused glances as she darted out the room before glancing back at the Map. Hugo frowned.

"But how are we going to get the feathers in her office in the first place?"

Rose forgot completely about her brother and her cousin and the monumental prank they were probably going to pull. _Its none of my business whether or not they get expelled, _she thought firmly, a dreamy smile on her face as she listened to Jimmy describe the time that he and his brother had come home early from a local Quidditch Match and found his parents in the middle of a rather passionate snog.

"Thats nothing," Rose denied. "I once walked in on my parents in the middle of..._well." _Rose gave Jimmy "The Smile." It was her father who had first capitalized it, telling her, "I'm not the only man you'll have wrapped around your finger, if you keep smiling like that. That said, I'm probably going to have to glue your mouth shut."

"You're joking!" Jimmy laughed at her. Rose shook her head sheepishly.

"I was only two, amazingly enough, and I still remember it like it was yesterday! I'm pretty sure its where Hugo came from, too!"

Jimmy almost spit out his drink at that, and Rose smiled wider. The night had been a success, so far. They had eaten a quick dinner, then ordered some heated Butterbeer, which they now drank as they wandered around Hogsmeade. Rose made a show of shivering heavily, using it as an excuse to move closer.

Jimmy placed his arm around her shoulder and looked at her warily. Rose gave him a large smile to assure him that it was alright.

"I had a great time tonight," he offered, as they approached the entrance to Hogwarts. It took Rose a moment to realize that they had been walking for over an hour. She shivered again, this time for real.

"Yeah?" she asked him. He nodded.

"Yeah." He was quiet for a second. "We should do it again?"

It came out as a question and Rose laughed, her breath misting in the cool air. "Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Er," Jimmy said, frowning, "It depends on your answer."

Rose answered his question by standing up and giving him a quick peck on the lips. He blinked, confused.

"Is that a 'yes?'"

Rose resisted the urge to sigh, exasperated. _Hugo was right: he is an idiot, _Rose thought. She grabbed several fistfuls of his hair and pulled him down towards her for a snog that was sure to erase any doubts he had.

* * *

><p><em>First Fight<em>

"What do you mean you were busy studying?" Jimmy demanded. Rose threw her hands up in the air.

"I meant exactly that! I was studying!" She and Jimmy had been dating for several months now-several _glorious _months. Keisha had warned her that the honeymoon phase would be over soon, but Rose hadn't listened. Keisha had a new man every other week. What could she know about that?

Rose knew now that she _should_ have listened.

There had been another Quidditch game the night before (Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw), but Rose had opted out of it, choosing instead to do a bit of studying for her Potions exam. Just because her mother's brains had gone to her brother didn't mean that she didn't want good marks. She and Al had plans to train to be Healers together. It was a dream they had shared since they were little.

She had thought that Jimmy had understood that, and the sacrifices that had to be made, but it seemed that he didn't.

"I had a Quidditch match yesterday!" He told her angrily, face red. "You should have been there, supporting me!"

Rose scowled. "Let me explain something to you!" She snapped. "Just because I'm dating you, Jimmy, don't mean my life is on hold! I don't have to do everything for you! I gotta do some stuff for _me, _too! And I told you before, I need to pass my NEWTs if I want to become a healer-"

"Let me explain something to _you,_" he interrupted. "When I was playing last night, and looked out into the stands, I saw the girlfriends of all the other guys on the team, but not _mine._ How do you think that made me feel?"

"I'm sorry, but-" Rose tried.

"But nothing! And I hate to break it to you, Rose, but you aren't going to be a healer anytime soon. The _only_ way that would happen is because of your parents! So get your head out of the clouds and start showing up to my games!"

He huffed and then stalked out of the empty classroom that he had pulled her into for their argument. Rose huffed in annoyance and anger, tears welling up in her eyes. Somehow, in the course of one argument, Jimmy had managed to drag up her one _true _insecurity.

"Its not true, you know?" Rose hastily wiped tears from her eyes and looked over her shoulder. Al was standing hesitantly by the door. She turned to face him fully.

"Ya heard that, did ya?" She asked shakily. He gave her an apologetic grin.

"I think everybody heard it," he informed her. She snorted.

"Figures."

"Its not true, Rose," he repeated, firmly. "Don't you dare believe him. Not for one second, alright?"

"Whatever you say, Al," she muttered, walking past him, out the door.

Al sighed and watched her sadly. This was not going to end well.

He didn't need a passing grade in Divination to know that.

* * *

><p><em>Last Fight<em>

"Its over, Jimmy!" Rose screeched. She didn't care how loud she was being or how many people were probably listening in. She had enough with Jimmy-bloody-Stone and his ridiculous mood swings. Over the course of the last semester, Rose had spent more time and effort trying to keep him happy than on her studies. She had slowly abandoned her friends and her own hobbies, just to spend time with him.

She thought it would be worth it, but that was until she caught him with another girl in one of the Herbology greenhouses. Her fierce glare had sent the girl running for the hills, but Jimmy had decided to stay and defend himself. He wasn't going to be able to talk himself out of this one, though. This was different than all those other times when she had fallen for his explanations and sweet apologies.

Blimey, she had been an idiot.

"Its not over," he snapped. "Its not over until I say its over!"

Rose shook her head in disgust, suddenly reminded of their first ever fight. The reason as to why her judgement was clearer now than it was back then was still unknown to her.

"What did I ever see in you?"

She went to leave, but a firm hand on her arm stopped her. "Hey, we aren't done here!"

"Let me go," she snapped, not in the mood to be patient with him. His hand gripped her tighter, almost bruising. For the first time since the fight started, she was actually _afraid_ of Jimmy. "Please," she said quietly. She tried to struggle, but all that did was make him more angry. He shoved her, hard.

She cried out as her head hit the corner of one of the desks. She tried to scramble up, but was unable to do so due to Jimmy's towering position over her. Rose heard the door open.

"What's going on in-" her Uncle Neville's voice voice suddenly uttered something unsuitable for younger ears. "Get away from her!"

A flash of light and Jimmy was lying on the floor, stunned. Rose wondered whether or not it was appropriate for a professor to stun a student, but she barely had a chance to look at Jimmy when her uncle was kneeling down next to her. She felt him gently pat her down for injuries.

"Somebody go get Madam Pomfrey," he ordered firmly to one of the students that had no doubt gathered at the door. Rose couldn't really understand much of anything that was going on at the moment. Her head was swimming. "Rose," called her uncle, his voice sounding worried despite the fact that it was slurred, "I need you to keep your eyes open, alright? Do not fall asleep, okay?"

"'t hurts," she murmured, closing her eyes. She heard her uncle calling for her more frantically and the sound of feet padding into the dirt ground of the greenhouse. "Sorry."

The last thing she heard was Madam Pomfrey's professional voice and her Uncle telling her that there was nothing she needed to be sorry for.

"Nothing at all, Rosie."

* * *

><p><em>NEWT results<em>

That had been three months ago. She had woken up in the Hospital Wing with a pounding headache, but, thankfully, no other injuries. Her parents had been rushed in and had been nothing but understanding...well, once her father had finished threatening certain death to Jimmy, anyways.

Madam Pomfrey had held her for a few days, during which she had to give a statement to some Aurors, but she was eventually released.

As much as she hated the Hospital Wing, Rose missed it immediately. Everywhere she went, peopler were whispering about her, pointing at her. Al and Hugo had been great support, and so had Lily. They were more than happy to spend hours in the Library with her as she struggled to catch up on all the course work she had neglected while with Jimmy.

She had known it was pointless, though. There was no way she was going to be prepared enough for her NEWTs. She might pass, but she wouldn't he able to get the grades she needed to become a healer.

Al had denied this, telling her that she was wrong and that she was more than smart enough. Hugo had helped her study, creating a schedule for her and lending her his notes. Lily had snuck her food from the kitchens when she skipped meals and helped her get to bed when she stayed up late.

All of it had been for nothing, though. Al had pulled all E's and O's, but Rose hadn't been able to keep up her end of the deal. She stared at the abysmal NEWTs in her hands.

A's across the board, save for one (miraculous and lonely) Outstanding in Charms.

They weren't the most horrible marks in the world, but she could forget about becoming a Healer. To do that, you needed _ at least _an Exceeds Expectations in Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Transfiguration, and Defense.

This the moment when Rose Weasley learnt that mistakes are easier to make than to fix.

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><p><strong>I'll probably be doing <em>Rose <em>(the pilot), _Father's Day,_ _Christmas Invasion,_ _ROTC _and _AoS_, and _Doomsday_. I was also thinking about doing The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, but I'm not sure. On one hand, its a great episode and I love Captain Jack (Plus, who else wants to see Jack's reaction to magic?). On the other hand, it's rather long and I'm not sure if it would be worth it. Let me know, please! (There are a couple episodes until I get there, so you've got time to think about it). If there are any other episodes that you want to see, then let me know, too! Just review or PM me!**

**And...thats it, I guess. This chapter is a bit slow, but it's main point is to just get things started. We never get much information about Jimmy in DW, so I did with that what I liked.**

**Let me know what you think! Love it? Hate it?**

**tinyrose65**


	2. Doctor's Orders

Rose was rudely awoken by the loud sound of her alarm clock. She reached over and slammed down the snooze button with the ease of somebody who performed the motion on a semi-daily basis. She remained in her bed for a few minutes, before finally sighing and sitting up in bed, her blonde hair sticking up at all angles.

She checked the clock. _7:34 AM._ She needed to get a move on, unless she wanted to be late for work. Rose scrambled off of the bed and shuddered as her bare feet met the chilly floor. She made her way quickly to her closet and into the shower. She washed herself quickly and made her way into the living room of the small London flat she shared with , Al.

Albus, who was her cousin on her father's side, was currently training at St. Mungo's to be a healer. He had been kind enough to offer Rose a place to stay when it became clear that she would not be able to afford London on her own. Never one to accept charity from her parents, she had accepted.

At the moment, she worked at her Uncle's joke shop. It was fun work and she always had a good time, but it wasn't exactly where she had hoped to end up Nevertheless, considering her less-than-great NEWTs, it was as good as she would get.

At least for the time being.

"G'morning, Al," she said to the young man sitting at the counter with a cup of tea. Albus Severus Potter gave his best friend a smile, watching her run around quickly in hopes that she wouldn't be late.

Rose stopped her frantic scrambling to give her cousin a quick kiss on the cheek and mumble a quick, "Love you, see you later," before running out the door. She took the steps two at a time, almost falling over the last one, and prayed to god that she wasn't late. She knew her Uncle would never fire her (he said he loved having her around too much for that), but the summer was always the busiest time at _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. _She hated to leave him and Aunt Angelina all on their own to deal with the chaos.

She made it to work, thankfully, and was immediately bombarded with a horde of customers all trying to pay for their purchases. She plastered on her best smile and began to organize them into a somewhat decent queue, working through them one by one.

Rose felt another stab of remorse once again, as she contemplated her position in life. She hadn't always planned for her life to be like this, but she had been so naive. She was _still _naive. Her family, despite their assurances and constant support, deserved something better.

_Not_ a nineteen year-old shop girl.

"Excuse me," screeched a nasally, whiny voice. Rose was broken out of her thoughts by a middle-aged witch wearing far too much make-up. She was holding a rubber chicken from the Muggle Gag department of the store and, judging by the impatient look in her eyes, Rose was going not going to enjoy the next few minutes of her life.

But, nevertheless, she got to work.

Several interesting hours later, Rose found herself immensely grateful for her lunch-break. She grinned when she saw Al waiting for her at the small diner they frequented.

Al had just finished telling Rose about his day at St. Mungo's so far, when he fixed Rose with a firm look. "Rose," he began. Rose thunked her head on the table. She knew that tone of voice.

"Al," she matched it, although her answer was slightly muffled due to her position.

"Rose," he repeated, this time not letting her interrupt, "Do you plan on working at WWW for the rest of your life?"

Rose raised an eyebrow at him. "Got any better ideas?"

"You know that you could come work at St. Mungo's with me. They would be happy to have you!"

"A place like St. Mungo's would never hire somebody with my NEWTs." she denied, taking a sip of her butterbeer. Albus sighed and leant back in his chair.

"You could always retake them!" he informed her crossly. Rose stubbornly refused to meet his eyes and Albus grimaced.

"Rose," he said, his voice surprisingly soft, "Its time that you moved on from what happened with you and Jimmy Stone."

"I've moved on!" Rose retorted. "I've completely moved on! Jimmy who?"

Albus gave her a fond smile. "Rose, you may be able to lie to yourself, but you _can't_ lie to me. I know you better than anybody. I saw how Jimmy treated you like garbage for almost a year and, over time, I think you might have started to believe it. I think you still do!"

"s not true!"

Al sighed and dropped it. Rose leant back in her chair and crossed her arms. They each sat in silence for a moment, sulking. Rose knew that Al was right, to some degree, but that didn't mean she was going to let him _know _that he was right.

"Listen, Al, whether or not I've moved on from Jimmy Stone-"

"You haven't," Al said tartly. Rose continued as though she hadn't heard him.

"-ain't important 'cause, at the end of the day, I honestly don' know if I want to be a Healer anymore. Maybe that whole thing with Jimmy was a sign or something-"

"A sign?" Albus snorted. He gave his cousin a skeptical look. "Have you been reading those ridiculous horoscopes again?"

Rose ignored him. "I just can't help but feel like there is something I am _meant_ to be doing! Something important!"

"And you think you will find it working at Uncle George's joke shop?" Albus shook his head dubiously. Rose had officially lost it.

Rose shrugged and fingered her wand, feeling the comforting warmth of the reed and dragon heartstring in her hand. She looked up at him and nodded carefully.

"Yea. I do."

Albus let it go after that, much to Rose's relief. They split a sundae and it was with a reluctant grin that she gave him a hug and then headed back to what she expected was dull night doing inventory at the shop.

"Rose," came Uncle George's voice. Rose looked up from the back room where she was working and was met with the sight of her Uncle's smiling face. He walked up to her.

"You need something, Uncle George?"

"Would you mind closing up shop tonight? Its Angelina and mine's anniversary and-"

"Say no more," she said kindly. "Takin' her somewhere special?"

Her uncle nodded and left, calling out a goodnight as he ran. Rose shook her head fondly and went back to work. If she hurried, she might be able to meet Al for dinner. Scanning the list of items in front of her, she realized that she was done. She just needed to carry some spare parts down to the basement. She made to levitate the box upwards when she realized she didn't have her wand.

She patted her clothes and, when she couldn't find it in any of her pockets, she realized that one of the pygmy puffs (cheeky little buggers) must have taken it. Her uncle denied it, but she knew that he was breeding those things to get more and more devious. She huffed. Resolving to get it on the way out, she jabbed the lift button several times, even though she knew perfectly well that that wouldn't speed it up in the least bit.

Under normal circumstances, she would have gone and gotten her wand, then simply vanished the box downstairs, but some of the things in the joke shop didn't react well to being transported via magic, anyways. Not knowing exactly what was in the box, the last thing she needed was to try vanishing it and end up in Cardiff or something. It would be easier for her to just shove the box into the lift, like she was doing now.

The lift finally opened and Rose entered the basement, trying to ignore the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. The basement was always a bit scary at night, but, for some reason, it seemed particularly ominous tonight.

She pushed the box into a specific corner (well, not really) and sighed in relief. Her work was done. She was about to leave when a noise caught her attention. She frowned. "'ello?" she called out.

More banging.

"Is somebody there, mucking about?"

There was no answer, but Rose found herself compelled to move towards the noise. S_' probably just one of Uncle George's prototypes,_ she tried to convince herself. At least, until a louder crash resounded across the basement.

_Or not. _Rose swallowed.

"Whose there?" she called. "Uncle George? Is that you? This ain't funny!"

She entered one of the old storerooms, finding herself surrounding by boxes of plastic muggle toys. Trying to quench the irrational fear in her stomach, she rolled her eyes at her Uncle's insane need to save everything and continued towards where she thought she heard the noise.

"Is somebody there?" she called again.

All of a sudden, a loud thud resonated through the room. Rose gasped and turned around, only to find the door to the basement closed. She sprinted up to it and tried to yank it open. It was pointless.

She was officially locked in.

Taking a deep breath, and sorely wishing that she hadn't left her wand upstairs, Rose began, once again, to walk into the storeroom.

Movement from the corner of her eye caused her to turn her head, but there was nothing there. She took a few steps forward, frowned, and stopped in her place, now _knowing_ that there was something behind her. She turned around slowly, afraid of what she might see**.**

A mannequin from one of her Uncle's old displays was walking towards her.

It was _walking_ towards her**.**

Rose had seen many strange things her short life (she had grown up in a household of wizards, after all), but _this _had to be the most bizarre.

It was then that she realized the mannequin was not the only thing moving. Other dolls of all shapes and sizes were carefully making their way towards her. Some weren't even dolls, but, rather, spare parts glued together to make a demented sort of figure.

"Is this some sort of joke?" she demanded, trying not to let any fear into her voice. "'cause if it is, it ain't funny!"

The figures made no response, simply continuing to back Rose further into the wall. Rose let out a squeak as a Barbie doll grabbed tightly onto her ankle. She managed to kick it off, but it didn't change the fact that she was still stuck.

One of the mannequins slowly raised his hand. Rose watched, horrified.

She was going to die.

She was going to die alone, in a dirty grimy basement.

Killed by a piece of plastic.

_Out of all the ways to go... _She shut her eyes and waited.

_A hand on hers._

Rose's eyes snapped open and she looked up. She found herself staring into a pair of clear, blue eyes, belonging to a man (in his 40s, Rose would guess). His hair was shaved close to his head, his nose was large, and his ears would make some House-elves jealous.

"Run," he ordered. Rose didn't stop to think about who he was or what he was doing in the basement of her Uncle's shop. She just did as he said, letting him pull her along and onto the lift.

She gasped as the arm of the largest mannequin reached through the closing doors, groping for them. The man seemed unconcerned, wresting for a moment until he yanked it off completely. The doors closed and the man tossed the arm to her.

Rose caught it out of instinct. "You tore his arm off," she stuttered.

"Yup," he said with a grin, watching the numbers of the lift light up.

"You-you can't just go around tearing people's arms off!" she accused. The man raised his eyebrow.

"Why not?" he retorted, crossing his arms, "They were trying to kill you!"

"Were they magic, then?" she gulped, trying to think of _why _in the _world_ would a bunch of dummies be after her. "Was that some sort of magic? "

"Why would you say that?" the man asked, looking up from the signal on the lift, genuinely curious.

"Well-" she stuttered, "I don't know."

The man raised an eyebrow as the lift began to move. "You said it, not me. Why magic?"

"Well," she stuttered, "You know. S' a joke shop. A magic joke shop. Uncle George loves doing stuff like this. What else could it be?"

"Very good," the man said, sounding very impressed. His grin disappeared. "Its not magic. And your uncle didn't organize this."

"Well who was it then?" Rose demanded, suddenly worried. "Death Eaters?"

The man snorted. "Do you really think _Death Eaters_ would bother with something like this?"

"They can be pretty desperate to get revenge on Uncle Harry!" Rose defended herself, "And some of the ones still around are hardly rocket scientists!"

"Fair enough." the man said, not caring. Rose gaped at him. "But this whole thing has got nothing to do with magic."

"No?" Rose questioned, sounding doubtful. "Then what were those things?"

"Autons!" The man said cheerfully, as if it was the greatest news in the world. Rose realized that the lift had stopped. The man once again grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

"Watch your eyes," he warned. He took what looked to be small, metal, wand and pointed it at the lift controls. She squeaked as the control sparked. Then he turned and walked purposefully away.

"Wait a minute!" she called. She ran after him. "What's goin' on? Who's that lot down there? What are 'autons?"

Autons," he explained, "are alien entities. They are being controlled by a relay point on the roof. A relay point that I've got to destroy, now. And I might very well die in the process, thank you very much."

"Destroy?" Rose muttered, as he yanked her forward once again, leading her towards the entrance to the store. "_Die?"_

"Oh, don't you worry about me. Go watch a Quidditch match! Have some Butterbeer! You wizards have some good stuff, ya' know. Relatively speakin', anyways. Better than most of the stupid apes on this planet." He grew serious for a moment as he opened the door. "Don't tell anybody what you've seen here tonight."

Using her shock against her, he chose that moment to shove her out the door of the shop. He left her there, a bit dazed and confused, still holding the mannequin arm. For a few moments, she wasn't sure what to do. Before she could come to a decision, though, the door opened. A small horde of pygmy puffs scampered out the door.

"Oi!" she exclaimed indignantly. "What you letting them out for? It's gonna take me ages to get 'em back in their cages!"

"Is this yours?" he asked, ignoring her. He held up her wand and she took it, gratefully. "The pygmy puffs had it. Adorable little things, aren't they? I'm the Doctor, by the way" he told her, grinning. "What's your name?"

"Rose," she said, trying to return his smile. He grinned wider at her attempt.

"Pleasure to meet you Rose." He inclined his head and held up a _different_ small metal object. "Now run for your life!"

The door closed and Rose did as he said, running as fast her legs could take her away from _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. _Once she found herself safely across the street, she stopped, catching her breath. She looked around and was surprised to see how empty Diagon Alley was. It must have been later than she had anticipated.

She had to get home, she decided. She needed to get home and tell her dad about "the Doctor." He was an auror. He'd know what to do. She looked over her shoulder at the shop and wondered what that man had meant about destroying the autons.

She got her answer a second later when the shop-the same shop that both of her Uncles had opened over twenty years during the war- blew up.

It _blew up_

Rose looked around. The flames had attracted quite a crowd, including several Ministry officials, from the looks of it. She couldn't be seen here, she realized, not if what the Doctor had told her about telling people was true. Her original intent had been to inform her father, but that was before she realized that this _Doctor_ liked to blow up shops. Rose _really _didn't want to know whether or not this fondness extended to people.

She took two steps backwards and did exactly what the Doctor ordered.

She ran.


	3. More Questions, Less Answers

Rose ran all the way to the Leaky Cauldron. She muttered a quick hello to some of the patrons she was familiar with. It seems that the explosion hadn't been massive enough to reach this part of the Alley, thankfully. The last thing she needed (or even _wanted)_ right now was questions from nosy customers. Finding a quiet room, Rose looked nervously around her, then apparated back to the flat she shared with Al. The apartment barely had enough time to materialize around her when a large force crashed into her, sending them both into the nearby wall.

"She's here!" came her brother's voice. It was dangerously close to her ear, and she winced at the volume of it. "She's alright!"

Rose found herself swarmed by her entire family-well, not _literally _her entire family. It was just her parents, her brother, Aunt Ginny, Uncle Harry, their sons (but not Lily), and Uncle George, but without Aunt Angelina (who was probably watching the kids).

_News travels fast,_ she mused, before remembering that her father, cousin, and uncle were all aurors. Odds are one of their friends had contacted them. Not to mention the fact that it was Uncle George's shop that had been blown up.

Rose instinctively reached for her mother, feeling rather childish, but nevertheless needing some of the comfort that her hugs could provide. Warm in her embrace, she let herself be led to one of the couches. Her Aunt Ginny offered to go make some tea and left for the kitchen. The weight on the couch shifted and her father settled down on one side, Uncle Harry on the other.

For awhile, nobody said anything, each person occupied with finding a place to sit in the very cramped living room. Her flat, while not very small, was not built to house so many people at once. Especially not when everybody was trying to squeeze into the living room. Poor James had to practically stick a leg out the window to make room for everybody.

"Ta," she said gratefully as her aunt handed her the tea. The cup was warm against her hands, but not uncomfortably so. She took a sip, letting the soothing liquid run down her throat. She let out an appreciative hum.

"Rose," her uncle said gently, reaching a finger up to tap her chin, getting her to face him more fully. "I know this might be difficult, but I need to know what happened. Did you see anything?"

What could she say? "Yes, there were living shop dummies that tried to kill me and an odd man called the Doctor was the one who saved me, but he also blew up the shop. Oh, and he let all the pygmy puffs go."

The chances of that going over well were slim. And although Rose knew that her family was pretty accepting and that her parents had probably seen weirder during the War, she couldn't help but remember the Doctor's words.

"I didn't see anything," she denied. "I wasn't even inside. I had just locked up and left like Uncle George told me to." She looked at the mentioned uncle sadly. "I'm sorry 'bout the store."

He shook his head. "You're safe. The rest can be dealt with later."

"So you didn't see anything?" Harry pressed. "Anything at all?"

"Nothing," she said. "Like I said, I wasn't even inside. But whad'ya reckon it was?"

Her uncle shrugged. "Search me."

After that, the matter was dropped. Her mother fussed, as usual, making her go and shower and change into a comfortable pair of pajamas. "You'll feel better," she assured.

Once she had finished, Rose had to admit that she was right. She settled back down on the couch and her Aunt Ginny swaddled her in blankets. Rose was normally above being babied, but her family was worried and she was cold and who didn't like being spoiled every now and again?

"Everybody was very worried about you," noted her brother from his perched position on the coffee table. "They'll be glad to know you're alright."

"How 'bout you?" she teased. "You glad to know I'm alright?"

"Of course I am," he said indignantly. "Now shut up and drink your tea."

"How am I supposed to drink tea with my mouth closed?" Rose asked. Beside her, Al laughed, although he tried to hide it with a cough.

"Rose," Uncle George said. He sounded curious. "Why do you have a mannequin arm with you?"

Rose was taken aback by the question. Then she remembered. "Oh! One of the clothing stores in Diagon Alley was chuckin' it, so I took it from them. Thought you might get a kick out of it. Maybe find something useful to do with it."

"I run a joke shop," he teased as he took the arm from her, smile dimming for a moment as he remembered the state of his store. "Whatever I do with it, you can bet that it won't be _useful._"

Rose giggled as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I have to go, love. Angie is probably worried sick."

Rose bid him goodbye, the guilt rising up in her again as vanished through the Floo. With him, the rest of the crowd slowly seemed to dissipate. First her other Aunt and Uncle, followed by James, and, eventually, Hugo. Both of her parents seemed reluctant to leave, but Al assured them that he would not be letting her out of his sight anytime soon. Rose aimed a hard kick to his shins at that, which he skillfully dodged.

"I meant it," he told her, after they had all left. "We were all worried sick about you."

"I'm sorry," she told him, not sure what she was apologizing for. He didn't seem to know either, but accepted it, nonetheless.

"Tell you what," he said, struck with an idea. "How about we go ahead and watch one of those movies that Hugo and your mum are always nattering on about?"

Rose laughed. "That sounds like the best idea I've heard all day."

"I'll pick," he said cheerfully, wandering over to the small shelf where they kept all of the films that Hugo had given them to watch. Unlike her brother, Rose wasn't too interested in her muggle heritage, though, so they had gone mostly unseen.

Rose never did get to figure out what movie Al had chosen for them. Between the soft scent of tea, warm blankets, and cozy couch, she fell asleep.

When she woke up, she was surprised to find herself back in her bed. She smiled groggily, realizing that Al must've brought her hear in the middle of the night.

_That was nice of him,_ she mused. She glanced at her alarm clock. 7:30. She made to get up, but Al's voice stopped her.

"No point in getting up, Rosie!" he called to her. "Your job blew up, remember?"

_That wasn't a dream? _Rose couldn't help but think. Ignoring her cousin's advice, she got up anyways, aiming to take a quick shower then head to the kitchen. Al was a surprisingly good cook and she hoped that if she caught him before he left for work, she might be able to mooch some breakfast off of him.

As luck would have it, he hadn't left yet when she entered the kitchen. In fact, he hadn't even gotten dressed. He was still parading around the kitchen in his boxers. She giggled, catching him off guard.

"St. Mungo's must really be redefining business casual," she quipped. He rolled his eyes and pretended to laugh.

"Very funny," he told her sarcastically. "I called St. Mungo's and told them I'd be staying home today. _Apparently, _I've come down with an awful cough."

"Albus Severus Potter!" she mock admonished. "Did you _lie_ to your boss?"

He didn't seem concerned. "I just thought I'd keep you company. Make sure you were alright."

"Help me find another job?" Rose posed, picking up the Daily Prophet and flipping to the job section. He sighed and placed a plate of toast on the table for her. Then, he took one of the newspaper pages for himself. He scanned the offers, looking more and more dubious with each sentence.

"There is an offer here," he began slowly, "about a place called Benny's- oh, its a butcher's."

"Ain't gonna happen." She denied. "Even I've got standards."

Al chuckled. "Good for you."

He finished his toast and wiped some crumbs off of the table. "I'm going to go take a shower. Afterwards, we can continue our _thrilling _job search, alright?"

She mumbled an assent and kept flipping through the paper. She heard Al looking around his bedroom for clothes. She smiled fondly, knowing how disorganized her cousin was. A new sound made its way to her-something other than her cousin. A rattle. More specifically, the rattle of a cat-flap against the door.

"Al!" she called, annoyed. "I _told_ you to nail that cat-flap down! We're gonna get strays!"

Al's voice came from the bathroom. "I did do it! But I didn't _nail it down!_ I used a Sticking Charm! Honestly, Rose, you're spending too much time with Hugo, using Muggle terms like that!"

"I am not! And you didn't!" she retorted. She walked to the door. "You _thought_ about it!"

She knelt down and took her wand, casting a quick spell to see whether or not any charms had been performed on the the cat-flap. She had to do a double-take. Al _had_ used a Sticking charm on the flap. It rattled again. Well, it wasn't stuck now. It took a lot to unstick that sort of charm (even a non-permanent one). Rose felt a nervous flutter in her belly.

Taking her wand, she carefully poked the cat-flap. It moved again, in response. Gathering her courage (what was a cat-flap compared to killer shop dummies, after all?), Rose took her free hand and pushed the cat-flap. It offered no resistance and allowed her to see what was the other side.

Her eyes met with a clear, blue gaze.

_"_You've gotta be kiddin' me," she gaped. Not giving the man a chance to respond, she stood up and unlocked the door. The Doctor stood in front of her, looking just as confused as she felt. She frowned.

"You!" she said accusingly.

"Me," he agreed, looking a bit lost. "What are _you _doing here?"

Rose raised an eyebrow at his tone. He sounded as though it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. "I live here!" she snapped, not in the mood to be patient.

"What d'you do that for?" he asked. Rose wondered what his reaction would be if she told him that it was because she was stupid enough to believe a boy when he said that he loved her. For some reason, the Doctor didn't strike her as the sympathetic type, and his face would probably be priceless.

Instead, she settled for, "Because I do."

"That can't be right," he muttered to himself, once again holding his small, metal wand. "You're not made of plastic, are you?"

Before she could even _think _to respond to that question, he rapped soundly on her forehead. She scowled at him. "Nope! Bone-head! Sorry 'bout that. I'll be on my way-"

"No you won't!" she denied, grabbing the lapel of his jacket. He didn't have much time to react as she pulled him into the house. "Get in here!"

"Oi!" he cried, obviously not happy with her actions.

"Rose?" her cousin appeared in the doorway to his bedroom, wrapped in nothing but a towel. He was obviously about to head into the shower. "Who's here?"

"'S somebody from the inquiry!" She told him. Al looked at the Doctor and held out his hand.

"Hello, Albus Potter."

"Pleased to meet you," the Doctor offered. Al took his hand and shook it. He then realized that he was in nothing but a towel. He turned bright red, making Rose giggle, and mumbled something about excusing him. Rose turned to the Doctor, who was examining her living room with interest. "Don't mind the mess," she instructed. "I had the whole family here last night."

"Bit small for family reunions, ain't it?"

"Well they were only 'ere 'cause _someone_ blew up my job." The Doctor looked untroubled by this latest revelation, so she sighed. "Look, I don't blame you or anything. Even if it was just a joke gone wrong, I'm sure you didn't mean- This ain't coming out right."

The Doctor didn't say anything, just leant up against a wall, arms crossed. He looked both patient and in a hurry to leave. Rose wasn't quite sure how he managed that. She changed the subject.

"D'ya want a coffee?"

He looked surprised by the question, but pleased. "Wouldn't mind. Just milk, thanks."

Rose headed into the kitchen and began to rummage around the cupboards. She hadn't realized it before, but a good portion of their cups were chipped or cracked. She finally found two that were decent and filled them up with the coffee that Al had made earlier. Rose heard the Doctor muttering to himself and moving around in the living room. She considered looking to see what he was doing, but decided it was better off that she didn't know.

"Do you have cat?" he called. _What does that have to do with anything? _Rose wondered to herself, incredulous. Then she realized that he was still waiting for an answer.

"We used to have," she offered. Balancing the cups of coffee precariously in her hands, she walked in to the living room. "But she died a while back."

The Doctor didn't answer. Actually, the Doctor _couldn't _answer. He was too busy wrestling the plastic hand from yesterday. Rose sighed, exasperated, as she put the two cups of coffee on the table. "Honestly, give a bloke a plastic hand...you're all the same." She frowned. "I could'a sworn Uncle George brought that thing home with him."

The hand decided that that would be the perfect moment to abandon the Doctor. He took a deep breath and sighed with relief. Rose, on the other err.. hand, was not feeling so relieved. When the hand latched on to her throat a moment later, she realized that the Doctor hadn't been playing around.

She clawed at it desperately with one hand, reaching for her wand with the other. Rose couldn't see anything but the plastic fingers gripping her face and neck. She felt something-_the Doctor-_crash into her, sending them both careening into the coffee table. It cracked beneath them, but Rose didn't notice. She and the Doctor were rolling madly around the floor, each trying to pry the hand off of her face.

The Doctor's strength finally won out, and it was with a triumphant cry that he wrenched it off her face. She almost fell backwards, however she caught herself in time to watch the Doctor use his metal wand to do _something _to the arm. Whatever it was, it stopped moving.

"There," he told her, tossing the arm at her. He was getting into a habit of doing that. "It's perfectly harmless now."

"Is it?" Rose demanded. At his nod, Rose whacked him hard with it.

"Ow," he whined, rubbing the sore spot. _Men. They're all the same. They'll take on living, shop dummies no problem. But a whack on the arm? They whine like little kids._ She mused. The Doctor stood up and began to walk away. Rose blinked. _He can't seriously think..._

He did!

He actually thought that, after everything she had seen, she was just going to let him go. Well he had another thing coming! Rose shot up from the floor, only vaguely wondering how she was going to explain the mess to her cousin, and ran after him.

"Hang on a minute!" she called, chasing him down the stairs. She was probably making some enemies of the neighbors trying to sleep in, but she had more important things to worry about. "You can't just go swanning off!"

"Sure I can!" He informed her, waving the plastic arm to emphasize his words. "This is me: swanning off!"

"That thing tried to kill me!" she tried. The Doctor didn't even bat an eyelid.

"Ten out of ten for observation!" He retorted.

"Don't patronize me!" Rose gasped, slightly out of breath from their brisk run down the stairs. They had reached the bottom floor now and were walking on the street. A couple people gave them odd looks, but, for the most part, ignored them.

"You can't just walk away!" she snapped, trying, once again, to grab his jacket. He avoided her fingers and gave her a disapproving look. "You've got to tell me whats going on!

"No I don't!"

"Fine!" Rose cried, throwing her hands up in the air. The Doctor actually stopped and turned around at this. He seemed to think she would have put up more of a fight and looked surprised that she had given up so soon. "If you don't tell me, then- I'll start talking! I'll go the media! The aurors! And _you _said that if I did that, I would get people killed. So: you're choice. Tell me, or I'll tell everybody else."

He looked amused now, as though she were some little kid. "Is that supposed to sound tough?"

Rose shuffled her feet, embarrassed. "Sorta, yea."

He shook his head. "Won't work."

He began walking again, this time taking a small, more secluded, side street. She groaned and began to walk with him.

"Who are you, though?"

"I told you. I'm the-"

"Doctor, right." She finished for him. "But Doctor what?"

"Just the Doctor."

"The Doctor?" she repeated. He grinned at her and waved, "Hello."

Rose laughed, despite herself. "Is that supposed to sound impressive?"

"Sort of, yea."

Rose grew serious. "I know you aren't with the aurors, but are you with the muggle police?"

The Doctor looked insulted. "With the _police? _Are you kiddin' me? The police are useless! And why do you keep mentioning the aurors? I don't even have magic!"

"Then how do you know about wizardry then?" Rose asked, taken aback. The Wizarding World was one of the greatest kept secrets in history. No mere muggle could accidentally stumble onto it. The Doctor just smirked.

"I've been around."

"So you're alone, then?" The Doctor nodded, but didn't elaborate. Rose sidled up to him, this time managing to grab his arm. He looked down, but otherwise kept walking. "C'mon, you can tell me! I've seen enough! What are you doin' here?"

"Oh, just passing through," he told her offhandedly. He grew sad for a moment. "I guess you could say I'm a long way from home."

"But what have I done wrong?" Rose prodded. "Why are all those plastic things after _me?"_

_"_Oh," he laughed. "So suddenly the whole world revolves around you, does it?"

Rose didn't know what to think anymore. "Whats that supposed to mean?"

"You've got nothing to do with this whole thing. You were just an accident. You got in the way." Rose went to protest, but the Doctor wouldn't let her. "They're after me-not you! Think about it: last night, I was there. Then you blundered in-almost ruined the whole thing! This morning, too, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down. The only reason it fixed on you was because you had met me."

Rose frowned. "So what you're sayin' is the whole world revolves around _you?"_

"Sort of, yea!" He grinned. She laughed at him again.

"You're full of it!" The Doctor's grin widened as though she had complimented him.

"Sort of, yea."

"But seriously. All this plastic stuff. Who else knows about it?"

"No one," he said. Rose didn't say anything for a second.

"So, you're on you're own?"

The Doctor nodded. "Who else is there?" He demanded. "All you lot do is go 'round in your own little world, not caring that, all the while, there's a war going on outside."

Rose bit her lip. She hadn't been alive during the War, but whenever her parents or Uncle Harry or _anybody _talked about it, Rose got the sense that it wasn't the sort of thing that was won by people going off and doing stuff by themselves. If there really _was _some sort of war going on, Rose sincerely doubted that the Doctor could do everything on his own (no matter _how _impressive he was). She bit her lip and made a decision.

"Hang on," she grabbed the mannequin arm out of his hand, stopping him in his tracks. He raised his eyebrows at her. "Start from the beginning."

The Doctor shrugged and began talking.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay! There you have it :) the third chapter. I feel so odd giving such quick updates, but, then again, the chapters are only a couple thousand words long (nothing like the 8,000 I tend to write for <em>Harriet Potter). <em>Hopefully that's okay with you, though. Let me know! **

**I'm pretty close to wrapping up the first episode at this point and, after that, comes a rewrite of _Father's_ _Day_!**

**Also let me know about what you think of the summary (I'm not very good at those). I haven't found one that 'sticks' yet. As I keep messing around with that, weigh in on your favorites. Maybe not so much now as the story starts out, but later on.**

**Reviews are good for you. Its been scientifically proven. **

**Well, maybe not.**

**But please review anyways!**

**tinyrose65**


	4. The Turn of the Earth

Rose hadn't really expected the Doctor to do as she said. She was surprised, then, when he began to weave her a story about living plastic beings. Rose shook her head in denial.

"Look, if you're gonna go with that bit-and I'm not even sure I believe it, to tell ya the truth- how'dya kill it?"

"The thing controlin' it projects life into the arm. I cut off the signal. Dead!" The Doctor looked immensely proud of himself. Rose, on the other hand, was still trying to make sense of it all.

"Professor Duncan used to talk about stuff like that in Muggle studies," Rose said slowly, trying to pull the information from the recesses of her mind. She really should have payed more attention. "'s radio control, right?"

"Thought control," the Doctor corrected. Rose's eyes widened.

"What, like the Imperius Curse?"

"Not quite. Same basic idea, though." Rose let out a deep breath and continued to follow the Doctor, not saying anything for a minute. They were nearing a park, at this point. It was empty at the moment, but Rose doubted it would stay that way for long. The sunshine and warm breeze promised that it would be a gorgeous day.

"Why, though?" Rose couldn't help but wonder. "I mean, plastic beings? Shop window dummies? A bit odd, if you ask me. What's the point?" The Doctor didn't say anything, so Rose decided to take a guess. "Is somebody trying to take over Britain shops?"

"No," The Doctor said with a chuckle, as if the thought itself was ridiculous. Rose bit her lip.

"Well, I don't know!" She quipped.  
>"Its not a price war," he informed her, making her laugh harder. He laughed with her, for a minute, then said, "They're trying to overthrow the human race and destroy you."<p>

Rose once again found herself stopping short. She marveled at how quickly his mood shifted. From joking and laughing to dead-serious in a split second. Rose couldn't help but wonder if he was bipolar. The Doctor realized that she stopped and looked over at her. She took a few brisk steps to catch up with him, but he didn't start moving again.

Instead, he studied her with that intense gaze of his.

Rose remembered how Uncle Harry had once told her that the eyes of his old headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, made you feel like he was seeing right through you. Rose hadn't really understood that expression.

Until now. It did feel like the Doctor was looking right through her. She wondered if this was how her Uncle had felt. She forced herself to meet his eyes. The Doctor looked so old, all of a sudden. He might not have been more than forty, but his eyes made him seem older than time itself.

_Who are you, Doctor?_

"Do you believe me?" He asked her softly. Rose felt as though the world was holding its breath, waiting for her answer. She looked around for a moment and shoved her hands back in her pocket.

"I don't know," she told him truthfully. She didn't know what to think anymore: not about the living plastic things, or thought control, or the strange Doctor-man with his too-old eyes. It was enough to make anybody's head spin.

"Then why are you still listening?" He asked her in an all-knowing tone. He began to walk forward again.

"I'm a witch. I've heard weirder." She retorted. The Doctor made no sign that he had heard her. She called his name. "Doctor!" He turned back towards her, expectant. She felt a bit like little kid asking, but she had to know. "Who are you? Really?"

For a minute, Rose didn't think he was going to listen. Then he smiled a bit as he changed his mind. "Do you know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving?"  
>Rose nodded shyly, not sure where he was going with this. He walked back towards her as he spoke, his words sending a chill up her spine. "Its like when you're a kid. The first time they tell you the Earth is turning, but you can't quite believe it 'cause everything looks like it's standing still."<p>

He paused for a minute, looking down at the ground, lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly, he met her eyes. "I can feel it." Rose felt him grab her hand, and she took it instinctively.  
>It was colder than she had expected.<p>

"The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling 'round the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour. And I can feel it. We're falling through space," he said softly. "We're clinging to the skin of this tiny, little, planet, and if we let go-" The Doctor dropped her hand and Rose gasped.

For a moment, as Rose let herself be caught up in the Doctor's words, when the Doctor dropped her hand, Rose could feel the Earth moving, too. She could feel herself falling.  
>And then everything stopped. Everything was still and she was planted firmly on the ground, the sun and the air warming her now empty hand.<p>

"Thats who I am," he said, as though he knew what she had felt. He took the mannequin arm-Why was she still holding that thing?- and looked at her sternly. "Now forget me."

This time, as he walked away from her, she didn't follow him. And, in all honesty, Rose wasn't sure if she wanted to. Taking a deep breath, she turned and began to walk away. She hadn't gotten far, though, when an odd sound, a beautiful sound, cut through the air.  
>Rose didn't think twice as she turned around and ran back to the spot where the Doctor had left her. She expected to see him, still walking away, but, in that short period of time, he had disappeared. Rose frowned. Something else was missing, too. She frowned and tried to remember what was missing. The truth was, the corner looked as though it always did. She could have sworn-<p>

There was a blue, telephone box there, earlier. Rose had never seen it before, but she had seen it a few minutes ago. And now, it was gone.

Along with the Doctor.

Rose decided it was time for some advice. However, when she apparated back home, it became clear that her cousin wasn't in the best mood.

"What did you do to the coffee table?" He demanded, standing over the shattered remains in the living room. Rose couldn't understand why he was so worked up.

"I told you, Al. It was an accident! And honestly, its not like it matters. It's easy enough to fix." Rose cast a quick Repairo, mending everything in a heartbeat. Al didn't look much happier about it. He crossed his arms and mumbled something about the principle of the thing.

"If you're done pouting," she teased, "I need your help finding something."

"A job," Albus agreed. Rose shook her head. Al raise an eyebrow, evidently confused. "No?"

"No," Rose affirmed. She dashed into her room to put on a more suitable outfit than the sweatshirt and tattered jeans she was currently wearing. As she pulled on her pants, she stuck her head out the door to talk to her cousin. "I need to go the Ministry Archives so I can see Mr. Donahue knows anything."

"Anything about what?" Albus asked, exasperated, as Rose walked back into the living room. She stopped to check her reflection in the mirror, carefully inserting her earrings. Meeting Al's impatient reflection, she turned around so she could face him better.

"I'm looking for a man called "The Doctor."" Rose elaborated.

"Doctor who?" Albus asked. Rose tossed him his sweater and grinned as she headed for the door.

"Thats the question, ain't it?" She called out as she left, swinging her purse around. Al laughed and followed her out the door. He locked it tightly and then sidled up to her. He looped his arm around hers, and together they apparated into the Ministry.

They stumbled, almost crashing into each other. Rose brushed herself down, straightening her clothes. She really hated apparating. Judging by Albus's expression, he wasn't such a big fan either.

"Alright," he nodded, to show her he was fine. "Let's get to the archives."

The Ministry Archives were one of the largest collections of documents-magical, or otherwise- in Great Britain, if not the world. They contained thousands and thousands of books, scrolls, papers, photos, newspapers, and magazines, all overseen and cared for by a man called Mr. Donahue. He was the only one and staff, thanks to the Ministry's refusal to spend any money on the Archives.

The Archives were not strictly speaking open to the public, but Rose was lucky. One day, when she was little, her mother was forced to take her to work with her. Her poor mother had been so worried about where to leave her when Mr. Donahue, taking pity on her, had offered to take Rose off of her hands. Rose had spent the day with Mr. Donahue, exploring the towering stacks of books.

Ever since, she and Mr. Donahue had struck an agreement: she would volunteer there over the holidays and he would, in turn, let her use the Archives whenever she needed. If there was going to be information on the Doctor anywhere, it would be here.

And Mr. Donahue would know about it.

Sadly, to get to the Ministry Archives, one had to get past Ministry security. Rose gave the guard a polite smile as she handed him her wand. Even though she would get it back only a few moments later, Rose hated the feeling of giving a complete stranger her wand. To her, her wand was a part of her, an extension of who she was. For her to let somebody else handle her wand meant that she had to trust them implicitly. Only a few people had gained that trust. Even most of her immediate family -save her parents, of course- had yet to hold her wand.

Rose hadn't always felt that strong connection to her wand. It was only after Jimmy Stone that she had begun to carry it with her everywhere. Albus thought that it might have something to do with the fact that she felt more secure with her wand nearby, safe in the knowledge that she had a way to defend herself against wizards like Jimmy.

Rose felt it was something more than that, though.

Whatever the reason, she breathed a sigh of relief as the guard handed it back to her. Rose ignored his wide-eyed look as he registered the names of her and her cousin. Instead, she grabbed Al's hand and tugged him forcefully to the lift, where they descended into the main room of the archives.

It wasn't a particularly clean room- the stacks of documents and wall-to-wall bookshelves prevented that. Everything was covered in a layer of dust. A special charm kept each document in its own climate controlled "bubble," with the air around it the perfect temperature and humidity for the preservation of that particular document.

When Rose was little, she had loved just walking around the room, feeling the temperature shift with each step she took.

"Mr. Donahue?" she called softly as she walked into the Archives. Her voice echoed around the cavernous room. For a minute she worried that he wouldn't be there, but, then, after a second, she heard the shuffling of papers and his face appeared over a large stack of books. A smile grew on his weathered face.

Mr. Donahue was an older man, maybe in his late sixties. His hair was white and thinning now, but Rose had seen photographs of him in his younger years that showed him with a full head of black hair. His green-eyes spoke of intelligence and a youthful spirit, despite the old age that he now wore.

"Rose!" He practically skipped towards her in his excitement and embraced her firmly. Rose hugged him back just as fiercely and then let him go. She gestured to her cousin.

"You know Al," she offered. They shook hands and greeted each other warmly. Rose bit her lip uncertainly. "We aren't bothering you, are we?"

"Of course not," he denied. "I always have time for you. So what is it that you need?"

"I need some information," Rose began. Mr. Donahue laughed, loud and booming, green eyes twinkling merrily.

"Then you came to the right place." He informed her, leading her deeper into the bowels of the room. "What do you need to know?"

There was no real filing system at the Archives. Mr. Donahue knew where everything was. He saw something once and then he never forgot it. Every word on every page. Every photograph in every newspaper.

"I'm looking for a man called the Doctor," she said worriedly. Rose honestly didn't know what to expect. Mr. Donahue knew every document in the archives, inside and out, but she couldn't help but worry that he wouldn't know anything about the Doctor.

"The Doctor?" Mr. Donahue stopped short. "You know about the Doctor?"

Rose nodded and Mr. Donahue gestured for her to follow him. She and Al exchanged glances as they fell into step behind the older man. Mr. Donahue lead them to a small table in the corner and gestured for them to wait. Albus took a seat, but Rose was too anxious about what Mr. Donahue was going to show her. She almost jumped when he returned carrying a small, dirty, cardboard box.

He placed it onto the table and opened it. Rose had to turn her head to avoid the plume of dust that arose. Albus wasn't so luck and, when she turned back around, Rose had to laugh at the picture he made, covered in a layer of dust. Mr. Donahue pulled out a picture.

"Is that," he asked her, "your 'Doctor?'"

Rose leant forward to look at it. "Merlin's beard! Thats him!" She peered a bit closer and joked, "I even think it's the same jumper."

Mr. Donahue nodded and pulled out the same picture, this time zoomed out. Then another, zoomed out even further. The final photo he pulled out made Rose gasp. The Doctor was standing in the crowd during the Kennedy assassination.

"Oh my god," muttered Al, "that photograph must be at least sixty years old." He turned apprehensively to Rose. "He's 'the Doctor?'" Albus demanded. "Thats the man from the inquiry, isn't it?"

"Yea, it is," Rose admitted.

"Going further back," Mr. Donahue interrupted. Rose and Al put down the photo of the Doctor and leant to look over Mr. Donahue's shoulder at the new photo he was holding. It was a black and white photo of the Doctor and a family.

"April, 1912," Mr. Donahue informed them. "This is a photo of the Daniels family. And friend." Mr. Donahue pointed to the Doctor, who was standing off to the side of the photo, next to one of the daughters. "This was taken the day before they were due to set sail for the New World."

"April, 1912," Al mused. His jaw almost dropped and he looked horror-struck. "They didn't cross on the Titanic, did they?"

"They were set to," Mr. Donahue said, putting the photograph onto the table. "For some unknown reason, they cancelled the trip-"

"-and survived," Albus finished. He looked almost as mystified as Rose felt. Mr. Donahue's face brightened as he remembered something else. He dug around in the box for another minute and pulled out a piece of very old paper.

"Here we are," he said, handing the paper over to Rose. She brought it up to her face to get a better look at it. It wasn't a photograph this time, but, instead, a drawing.

"1883," Mr. Donahue informed them. "There he is again! He's identical! This particular piece of paper washed up on the coast of Sumatra. On the very night the Krakatoa exploded."

"It's the same man" she muttered, more to herself than to Albus. "Over and over and over. At least, it looks like him. Could the Doctor just be a title, you think? Passed down from father to son?"'

"Maybe," Al agreed, grabbing onto that more plausible explanation as fast as he could. Albus wasn't a big fan of things he couldn't understand. "Or maybe its some sort of magic."

"No," Rose denied. "The Doctor made it very clear that he doesn't have magic. Whatever this is-whatever he is- its non-magical."

Mr. Donahue fixed Rose with a sharp look, through his glasses. "You've met the Doctor?"

Rose was surprised at Mr. Donahue's fearful gaze. She shrugged. "Yea, why?"

Mr Donahue took off his glasses and gave a doleful sigh. "Mr. Donahue, what's wrong?"  
>Mr. Donahue straightened.<p>

"The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He brings the storm in his wake and he has one constant companion."

Rose was afraid of the answer, but she knew she had to ask. "Who's that?"

"Death," Mr. Donahue said softly. "If the Doctor is back, if you've seen him, Rose, then one thing can be certain: we're all in danger." Mr. Donahue began to put the photos away, but Rose sensed that he had more to say. He stopped and placed both palms on the table, head down. His shoulders shook and Rose hurried over to him rubbing his back and trying to calm him down.

"I'm so sorry, Rose," he whispered. He looked up at her, his gaze apologetic and his eyes red. "I wish I could do something for you, but if he's singled you out, love- if the Doctor is making house calls, then-" he shook his head and heaved another sob. "God help you."

"Rose," Albus muttered, as Rose continued to rub Mr. Donahue's back, numbly. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

"I don't know," she whispered. Rose looked down at the photo of the Doctor that was left on the table. It was the one of him at the Kennedy assassination. He looked just like any other person in the crowd. But Rose knew better now. He was so much more than that.

Whoever he was.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright! There it is! Hope you enjoy. Please read the note on my profile page for more information about when I'll be posting.<strong>

**Also, on a different note: While I was writing this chapter, a question came to me and I was just wondering if you had an opinion. **

**Who would win in a staring contest between a Basilisk and a Weeping Angel?**

**Review and let me know! Also let me know what you think about my summary...not a big fan of it, and it'll probably change some time soon. I'd appreciate any suggestions, though.**

**Love,**

**tinyrose65**


	5. It's Enough To Make Your Head Spin

"Rose, we need to go the aurors." Albus said the moment they exited the Ministry. Rose blinked into the sunshine as they entered Diagon Alley. Rose shook her head immediately.

"Never gonna work." Rose denied. When Al tried to protest, she tried to reason with him.

"What are we going t say, Al? 'An odd man called the Doctor blew up Uncle George's shop and now he's after me. Oh, by the way, did we mention that he's apparently immortal?'"

Al scowled at her. "Well, when you put it like that-" He stopped in the middle of his sentence. "Hang on! The Doctor was the one who blew up Uncle George's shop?"  
>Rose didn't answer, which, truth be told, gave Albus all the confirmation he needed.<p>

When Rose realized that he wasn't going to drop the matter, she placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "I'll go the aurors, Al, I promise. Just...not yet, yea? I need some more time to figure things out for m'self. Now whad'ya say we drop in on Uncle George at the shop to see if they need some help cleaning up?"

Al chuckled affectionately. "Changing the subject, are we? But, yea, alright. Then after we can grab some grub. I'm starving."

Rose grinned. "You're always starving, Al."

Together the two ambled towards the direction of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, discussing the matter of the Doctor and trying to work out who he was and what he wanted. Rose explained to him what had _really _happened down in the shop that night, and Al listened with rapt attention.

Once she had finished, he let out a low whistle. "So much for not seeing anything, eh?"

Rose glared at him. "I just don't understand. If what Mr. Donahue says is right, then I should be dead. So why'd he bother saving me?"

Albus shrugged. "Maybe the Doctor _doesn't_ want you dead."

"Whad'ya mean?"

"It's like the shop, right? I doubt the Doctor meant to blow it up-he just didn't have a choice."

"So what, then?" Rose asked dubiously. "Everything that happened around him-the Krakatoa, the Titanic- that was all an accident?"

"Or a really bad coincidence," Albus supplied.

"Maybe," Rose said after a moment. The entire thing sounded too far-fetched, though. There had to be more to this. "It still doesn't explain why he doesn't seem to age. I just feel like I'm missing something so-"

Albus swore softly. Rose was about to chide him when she saw what he was looking at. She gasped, too. They had arrived at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes- or, rather, what used to be Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The entire shop was black, burnt to a crisp. Rose and Al stepped through the police tape and went inside, where they found Uncle George and a small crew working on cleaning out the rubble. He beamed when he saw them, his face black with soot and contrasting (quite nicely, Rose thought) with his bright red hair.

"What are you two doing here?" He asked. He was clearly exhausted, but his voice betrayed just how happy he was to seem them. Rose gave him a strained smile.

"We just thought we'd come and check in on the shop," Al jumped in, once it had become clear that Rose wasn't going to be saying much anytime soon. She was still too busy surveying the damage.

"We're just cleaning up," her uncle informed them both. "Thankfully, the actual infrastructure of the building is intact. Its just the interior, along with all of the supplies. Thankfully I've got money set aside for that. Plus insurance…" Uncle George trailed off and scratched his chin, "We should be up and running again in almost no time!"

"There shouldn't be an almost," Rose griped. "You shouldn't have to be doing any of this! Uncle George-"

"Hush Rose," he chided. "We're not having this conversation again. If you're dead set on feeling bad, though, why not stay a while and help clean up?"

Rose smiled at him. "We thought you'd never ask. Where can we-"

A small chirp cut her off. The three looked around for the source of the noise and it was Al who spotted it first. A small pygmy puff was standing next to the stairs towards the basement of the shop. The poor thing was covered in soot and looked horribly confused.

"Oh," Uncle George laughed. "Apparently the pygmy puffs were able to get out last night. A few of them have begun showing up, looking for food, probably." Uncle George smirked at Rose. "The one time I'm thankful for you not properly closing their enclosure."

Rose rolled her eyes and watched the pygmy puff for a moment. He gave another dazed squeak and tumbled down the stairs. Rose made to go and get him, but Albus beat her to it. "I've got it!"

Al headed downstairs, taking the steps two at a time. When he reached the basement, he pulled out his wand and cast a soft _Lumos. _The lights in the basement had been put out and, judging by the lack of ash and the full trashcans scattered around the room, the cleaners had already been here.

Al looked around for a minute, desperately searching for some sign of movement, indicating the whereabouts of the small pygmy puff. The rattle of a trashcan caught his attention, so he grinned triumphantly. He moved in a way that was almost impossibly quiet (a skill he had inherited from his father, or so he'd been told) until he was directly in front of the trashcan. Shifting his wand in his hand for a minute, he reached and yanked the lid of the trashcan open, expecting to see the pygmy puff inside.

Instead, the trashcan was empty.

He frowned and glanced about the room. All of the other trashcans were full. Why was this one empty? And what was moving?

The pygmy puff caught his attention again, making him forget about the odd trashcan. Al closed the lid and began to walk towards the pygmy puff, but he was stopped short by the trashcan. It was quite literally glued to his hand.

Albus chuckled, realizing that this must have been one of his Uncle's gags. He pulled with more force, but his hands refused to give. Now he was a bit concerned. Al looked around the garbage can, but couldn't see any sort of switch and he couldn't reach his wand from his position.

He tried to call for his uncle, however his calls were drowned out by the sound of the cleaners upstairs. Screwing his face up in determination, he braced his foot against the side of the can and pulled with all of his weight.

It didn't work.

And _now _his foot was stuck to the trash can. Albus was, at this point, balancing on only one foot, trying to hop backwards and have the can release him, and calling for help upstairs. The trashcan had begun to pull him in and Albus finally acknowledged that this was not something his uncle had cooked up.

Albus took one last breath of air (and he was sure that it would be his last), before being pulled completely into the trashcan.

In the corner, the pygmy puff fluffed itself, completely unconcerned with what had just happened, and bounced back upstairs, where Rose and her Uncle were conversing comfortably as they cleaned up some of the debris.

Rose smiled when she saw the pygmy puff. She put her debris into the trashcan and wiped her hands, picking up the tiny creature. "Looks like Al just missed it," she giggled, amused at the idea of her cousin being outwitted by a pygmy puff. She began to rub the dirt off of it, cooing at it as she worked. Uncle George fashioned a small enclosure for it from an old crate and, once it had been cleaned enough, she placed it inside.

"I'll get it some water," he told her, as she stroked it gently. "I can take it home later to make sure its alright."

Rose smiled at him. Her smile grew wider when she saw Al slowly making his way up the stairs.

"We got the pygmy puff," she called to him, laughing. "Guess it was just a tad too smart for you, huh?"

Albus didn't say anything to her. He just blinked and rolled his shoulders stiffly. She frowned, "Hey, I was only messing 'round. You know that, right?"

"'Course I do," he said quickly. "What was it you said earlier about pizza? Let's go!"

"Wait!" she cried as he pulled her along. She waved to her confused Uncle. "What about the shop?"

Albus didn't answer her. Instead he continued to tug her out of Diagon Alley and into muggle London. Rose tried to talk to him, but he wasn't in the mood to say much.

"Blokes really do think with their stomachs," she muttered, as he finally steered her into a restaurant. She sat heavily onto the chair with a huff, taking deep breaths. "Merlin, Al! What was that about?"

"Nothing," Albus told her stiffly, never blinking. "I just worry about you. You know that. I've been worrying a lot about this Doctor bloke, too. Why don't you tell me more about him?"

Rose shook her head and looked at the menu. The Doctor was the last thing she wanted to talk about. Even if she had been so inclined, a family restaurant like this, as crowded as it was, was definitely not the right place to talk about this sort of thing.

"I don't want to talk about him," she denied, "not now."

"Why not?" Al interrupted. "Don't you trust me, Rose? Rosie. Love."

"Why are you talking like that?" Rose asked, not bothering to dignify his first question with an answer. And men said _women _were insecure. A waiter chose that moment to come up to them and offer them a bottle of champagne.

"A bottle, for the happy family?"

Rose waved it off. "We didn't order anything." She turned back to Al. "What's wrong with you? Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm feeling fine. I just need you to tell me more about the Doctor."

"What else do I need to say?" she said, resigned at the fact that he obviously wasn't going to talk to her about anything else. "He's dangerous, Al."

The waiter pushed the champagne back to her. Once again, she pushed it away. "Seriously, we're underage."

Albus leaned forward eagerly. "That's why you need to tell me Rose. Tell me where you think the Doctor is. I can _help _you."

"Does nobody want a drink?" asked the waiter, sounding like, for all intents and purposes, a whining child. For the first time since they had left the shop, Al looked properly annoyed.

He scowled and turned to the waiter. "Listen, we didn't order-" Al stopped short and grinned triumphantly. "You!"

Rose looked up at the waiter and had to do a double take. The Doctor was standing next to their table, smiling like an idiot. "Seriously," Rose demanded, "you sure the world doesn't revolve around me?"

"Pretty sure," the Doctor assured her as he shook the champagne bottle. Rose raised an eyebrow. "Oh, don't mind me. Just thought now was a good time for a toast!"

With that, the Doctor let go of the top of the bottle, sending the cork stopper flying out and into Al's face. Rose's hands went to her mouth to cover her horrified shriek. Al's face had simply absorbed the cork-stopper. As if it could get any weirder, he then he spit it out his mouth and towards one of the patrons, who were beginning to look a bit worried.

Had it been under any other circumstances, Rose probably would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Considering, though, that it was her cousin and the Doctor, she wasn't laughing.

"Anyways," Al-but it wasn't Al, not really- said. His hand seemed to swell to an impossible size and his fingers squeezed together, growing large and square. Al's hand now fashioned into a makeshift club, he began to tear the restaurant apart.

The diners began to scream and run as Al began to tear the place apart. Rose, thinking quickly, ran to the fire alarm and activated it.

"Everybody out!" She hollered, as the patrons all made a beeline for the door. "Just get out!"

The one person who decided not to take her advice was the Doctor. Instead, he launched himself at Albus and tried to wrestle him to the ground. Albus hit him and sent him flying backwards into some tables near Rose. Rose gasped as he lay winded on the ground.

"Doctor!" she cried, as he attempted to get back to his feet. "We need to get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving without his head!" The Doctor retorted, watching the… whatever-it-was through determined eyes.

"_His _head?" Rose asked. She couldn't believe this. "If I were you, I'd be more worried about _yours_!"

The Doctor didn't say anything because he was too busy ducking out of Al's way. Since Rose doubted that he was going to change his mind soon, Rose took out her wand and cast the first spell she could think of.

"_Accio head!" _

And that was how Rose found herself holding onto the plastic head of her cousin, staring into its face. "I can't believe that worked," she muttered.

The head turned itself over in her hands and smirked at her. "Neither can I. But don't think that'll stop me, love."

Rose screamed and almost dropped the head, but the Doctor caught it moments before it hit the floor. Now that he had what he wanted, he looked much more calm. Almost _cheery. _

"Nice work," he praised, a manic grin spread across his face. He turned serious. "Now let's go."

The Doctor grabbed her hand and yanked her forward. Rose heard a crash behind her as Albus's hand came down on the exact spot where they had stood only moments ago. Rose didn't need any more encouragement from the Doctor. The two bolted for the exit in the back of the store. As they tore through the kitchen, Rose could hear Al right behind them.

Taking her wand, Rose turned and looked over her shoulder, aiming a Reductor curse at him. Rose's aim had never been good, though, and combined with how fast she and the Doctor were moving, and the fact that Al was moving like a drunk man, she missed. Rose hit a pile of dirty dishes in the sink, instead. They shattered, sending shards of glass everywhere. Rose felt a few of them land in her hair, but Al took most of the blast.

Rose shot out the back door where the Doctor was waiting for her. He shut the door and took out his metal wand. Something on the end lit up and Rose's ears were hit with a high-pitched hum. Rose heard the door lock and the Doctor nodded, satisfied. He took two steps back and then turned swiftly on his heel, looking as carefree as she had ever seen him.

Humming, he made his way over to the blue box in the alley next to them. Rose was content to watch, confused, until a large crash from inside the kitchen startled her. The door wasn't going to hold them for long.

"Doctor!" she demanded, as he unlocked the door to the box. "We need to go! I can apparate us somewhere safe! C'mon!"

"Nah," he denied, fiddling a bit with the lock. They key was a bit stuck.

"My Reductor curse isn't going t' hold him for long!" Rose argued. The Doctor gave a triumphant cry as the lock finally gave. He turned it completely and opened the door. He took the key out of the lock and stuck it in his pocket. He gave her a look that clearly implied that she was an idiot.

"Of course it won't. You didn't even hit him." He laughed as Al gave the kitchen door another smash.

The Doctor gestured into the box. "But why bother with apparition? Rubbish way of getting around, that. Why don't we go in here?"

Then he stepped into the box and shut the door. Rose found herself torn. On one hand, she could apparate herself to safety, but that would leave the Doctor to fend for himself in a wooden box. Even if he did want her dead for some reason (and she was beginning to doubt this, Al's words weighing heavily on her mind), she couldn't just leave him to die.

The other option was, of course, to chase him down and make him see reason. Rose shot another anxious glance at the door as it let out another crash. Making up her mind, Rose ran for the blue box and opened the door. She expected for the inside of the box to be cramped and dark, but what she saw instead took her breath away.

The box was, first of all, bigger on the inside. That wasn't too unusual to Rose, though. Rose had seen plenty of things that were bigger on the inside. Plenty of items in the Wizarding World were charmed to be that way: bags, chests, closets, rooms, tents, and so on.

What did shock her was the interior of the box. Brightly lit by a bright blue column in the center, along with more normal looking lights, the room was decorated with twisting structures that looked to be made of coral. The Doctor was messing with some buttons and switches in the center, Al's head propped up next to him.

"Merlin's saggy left-"

"Oi!" chided the Doctor. "I won't have that sort of language in my ship!"

"Ship?" Rose echoed dumbly. That's when she finally understood what was going on. "Like a spaceship?" She clarified. The Doctor nodded. "This is alien," she continued.

She looked at the Doctor, suddenly unsure. "Are you alien?"

The Doctor took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. I am." He paused for a moment. "That okay?"

"Yea," Rose said quickly. It took her a moment to realize that she meant it, too. Merlin, when her parents raised her to be non-discriminating, they sure did a good job. _Although,_ Rose conceded, _I doubt that they had ever considered this situation._

"It's called the TARDIS." Sensing Rose's confusion, he clarified. "This thing. That's T-A-R-D-I-S. Stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

Hearing the Doctor explain everything to her suddenly made all that had happened in the past eight hours suddenly far too real for Rose. She brought her hands up to her face and began to sob, quietly, at first, then louder.

The Doctor, contrary to what she had expected, was understanding. "It's alright," he offered. "Culture shock. Happens to the best of us. Even witches," he added teasingly, most likely uncomfortable with having a crying teenage girl on his ship.

Rose shook her head and, although she didn't crack a smile, she did calm down a bit. "That's not it. Did they kill him? Albus? Did they kill Al? Is he dead?"

The Doctor looked surprised. "Oh," he mused. "Didn't think of that, actually."

"He's my cousin!" She snapped, suddenly angry beyond belief. "My _best friend_! They- whoever _they _are- copied him. Y_ou_ asked me to get you his head _and I did._ You asked me and you didn't even think?" Rose was getting hysterical at this point. She gestured wildly towards Al's head. "And now you're just going to let him melt?"

"Melt?" The Doctor asked, confused. He turned around and saw that Rose was right. Al's head had begun to melt, the soft plastic oozing into the crevices and cracks in the TARDIS's controls (or what Rose _assumed _were the controls). "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, NO!"

The Doctor began to frantically pull at the levers and hurriedly pushed at the buttons. Rose could only watch helplessly. She was ridiculously out of her element here.

"What are you _doing?_" She demanded.

"Retrieving the signal!" The Doctor said. "Its fading! I just need to- no, no, no!"

He moved about the controls with an odd sort of grace, giving Rose the impression that he had been doing this for a number of years. Her opinion changed a moment later when the ship began to shake. She was thrown against one of the coral structures, so she grabbed onto to it and held on for dear life.

The Doctor seemed to be having the time of his life. "Almost there! C'mon! Almost- Here we go!"

The Doctor pulled one last lever and the ship stopped moving. Rose straightened herself up and took a deep breath. The Doctor didn't even glance at her as he ran out of the TARDIS.

"You can't go out there!" Rose panicked, following him for some inexplicable reason. "It's not-" Rose stopped short, almost crashing into him. "-safe," she finished weakly.

Rose was no longer standing outside the kitchen of the small diner. She was standing on the bank of the Thames.

This time when Rose cursed, the Doctor didn't stop her.

* * *

><p><strong>How do you like it? One more chapter and then done with the Pilot! How's it been so far?<strong>

** Next up: a remake of Father's Day. I'm excited for it! Are you?**

**tinyrose65**


	6. The T Stands for Time

"We've moved," Rose stated, standing outside of the box. The Doctor was pacing and didn't seem to have heard. He scowled.

"I lost the signal!" he whined. He reminded Rose of the little four year old she used to baby-sit. Although, the four year old didn't know any of the curses that the Doctor was currently muttering. "I was so close, too."

"We've moved," she repeated, louder this time, trying to make it clear that she didn't really care about his lost signal right now. "Does it fly?"

The Doctor sighed. "Disappeared then reappeared."

"So it apparated?" She questioned. The Doctor shook his head.

"No. It uses the-" He stopped short. "What am I explaining this to you for? You wouldn't understand."

"No, I probably wouldn't," Rose retorted. "What I _do _understand is that even if we've moved, that headless thing is still on the loose, ain't it? What're we gonna to do?"

"Nothing," The Doctor said, as if it were obvious. "It melted with the head. Yet another thing you _wouldn't _understand. Now, are you going to be wittering on all night? I've got work to do."

Rose gaped at him. The nerve! Just because she wasn't an alien with her own spaceship or a sonic screwdriver and whatever else he happened to have with him, did _not _mean that she was completely useless. Ever since the incident with Jimmy Stone, Albus had made sure to instill in her a strong sense of confidence. Thanks to him, she was hard put to let anybody walk all over her nowadays.

_Albus._

"I'll have to tell his family…"

"Whose family?" The Doctor asked blankly.

"Professor Binns's family!" She snapped. "I'll have to tell them that he's been dead for the past seventy years! Who do you think?" When the Doctor continued to stare at her blankly, Rose threw her hands up in the air. "_Al! _Albus's family! I have to tell them that he's dead and you just went and forgot him. _Again!" _

The Doctor looked unconcerned. Rose knew it was wrong, but in that moment, she wanted the Doctor to know a small bit of the pain that she was feeling at the loss of her cousin. She told him coldly, "You're right. You are an alien."

Her biting remark touched a nerve. "Look, even if I did forget about some kid called Al-"

"He's not 'some kid!'" Rose interrupted. "He's my cousin!"

"-"It's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, alright?" he finished. Rose glared at him.

"Alright?" She screeched, for lack of a better retort.

"Yes! It is!" It seemed that the Doctor was tired of their argument too. Rose took a deep breath to calm herself down and counted to ten, just like her mother had taught her. She only got to three, though, before she was calm enough to realize something.

"If you are a alien, then how comes you sound like you're from the North?" She asked. The Doctor gave her a look of pure disbelief.

"Lot's of planets have a north." He crossed his arms and looked away. This gave Rose a chance to more closely look at his spaceship without his eyes watching her every move. Rose guessed that the outside was meant to be some sort of disguise, but she realized that she had never seen anything like it before. Not even in Muggle Studies.

"What's a 'Police Public Call Box?'" she ventured to ask. The Doctor smiled fondly and patted the side of his ship.

"It's a telephone box from the 1950s." he told her. "It's a disguise."

Rose couldn't help but smile. She nodded, accepted the Doctor's answer. To anybody else, it might not have made much sense to disguise a spaceship as a telephone box from the 1950's in the 21st century, but, as a witch, Rose understood better than most how truly oblivious people (muggle and wizard, alike) could be.

"Okay. And this living plastic, what's it got against us?" Rose asked, trying to get back on topic.

"Nothing," The Doctor denied. "It loves you. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air... Perfect!"

"Sounds like paradise," Rose laughed sarcastically. The Doctor tutted.

"Haven't you heard that one man's trash is another person's treasure?"

"Only, in this case, by 'person,' you mean alien?" Rose guessed.

The Doctor looked proud of her. "Exactly! This planet has _just _what the Nestene Consciousness needs. It's food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth... Dinner!" The Doctor made a motion of gobbling up dinner, but then stopped. "I probably look ridiculous."

Rose snorted. "With those ears? That's nothing new."

"Oi!" He snapped, but Rose could tell he was amused.

"So how we stop this thing, then?" Rose asked.

He reached into one of pockets and pulled out a small vial. He wiggled it slightly in front of her, the dark liquid swirling a bit. Rose tried to get a good look at it, but couldn't tell what it was. "Anti-plastic!"

"And that would be..?"

"Anti-plastic!"

Rose laughed. "Yea, because _that _clears it up!"

The Doctor didn't appear to have heard her. He was looking around, mumbling to himself. "Where _is _it?"

"Where is what?"

"The transmitter!"

"And what is that?" Rose sighed. Apparently if she was going to be spending any amount of time with the Doctor, she was going to be asking a lot of questions. "And a _proper_ answer, this time!"

"The Nestene Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal." He continued to look around and Rose began to look with him.

"What's it look like?" Rose asked.

"Like a transmitter!" The Doctor said. Rose raised her eyebrows, so the Doctor hastened to add, "It's round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London!" He began to pace, looking up and down, as if the receiver was going to appear in mid-air. "A huge, metal, circular, structure…like a dish…"

He turned back around to face her and shook his head, crossing his arms. "It must be totally invisible," he told her, amazed. Rose looked at him skeptically. He was kidding, right?

The Doctor noticed her look. "What?" He demanded. He looked over his shoulder to where she was looking, but just turned around, confused again.

"What?" He repeated, before repeating the motion again, too. "_What?" _He turned around again, but failed to make the connection that Rose had made. Rose nodded at the structure behind him again. He turned around and finally realized what it was that Rose meant: the London Eye was looming right behind him, standing out, rather brightly, against the night sky.

"Oh," he said, turning back to her. He looked rather taken aback, but then a massive grin spread across his face. It was a grin that Rose had grown rather familiar with and, if she was going to be honest, had come to like.

"Fantastic!"

Then he took off, Rose running right behind him. At some point or another during their frantic run, the Doctor reached backwards and offered her his hand. She didn't hesitate in taking it. It felt as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

When they reached the eye, they stopped. Rose was slightly out of breath, but still feeling more alive than she had in a long time.

"Think about it," the Doctor said, "Plastic all over the world. Every artificial thing _just waiting _to come to life. Wires, dolls, phones, cables…"

"The breast implants," Rose added. The Doctor's lips twitched, but Rose had been dead serious. The implications of that sort of thing were too horrifying to think about.

"Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath." The Doctor informed her. Rose began to help him look for the entrance. She found an entrance to a manhole at the wall.

Looking down at it, she called, "What about down here?"

The Doctor ran over to her. "Looks good to me!" He said simply.

Together, they ran down the stairs to the manhole. The Doctor lifted the cover off. Rose blinked as red light hit her face. She almost choked on the smoke coming out of it. She and the Doctor made their way down the ladder. They exchanged glances and the Doctor led her down into a another chamber, down some steps.

Rose almost gasped when the Doctor pointed out the quivering, orange, mass standing in the center of the room.

"Is that it? Inside the vat?"

"The Nestene Consciousness," The Doctor confirmed. "A living, plastic creature."

"Well, then. Tip in your anti-plastic and let's go." Rose ordered.

"I'm not here to kill it." The Doctor denied, much to Rose's surprise. She thought that that had been what this whole thing had been leading up to. "I've got to give it a chance."

Rose watched, biting her lip, as the Doctor made his way down yet another winding set of stairs, allowing him to get closer to plastic. There are quite a few plastic creatures surrounding the room at this point: mannequins, a crash test dummy, dolls; even what looks to be some poor bloke's prosthetic leg. The Doctor leaned over the railing to get a better view of the Nestene Consciousness.

"I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract. According to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation." He called, his voice clear and loud, even over the clamor of machines and the hiss of smoke.

The Consciouness wiggled around a bit. Rose didn't think it was doing anything more than moving, but apparently it was some sort of language.

And, of course, the Doctor understood it. "Thank you. I ask that I might have permission to approach."

Meanwhile, Rose spotted somebody she never thought she'd see again: Al. He was huddled on the ground, wand clutched tightly. He looked sweaty and scared, but otherwise unharmed. Rose ran to him.

"Al! Oh my god! Albus! It's okay! It's alright!" Rose squatted down next to him. He looked shocked to see her there.

Understandable, of course.

"Rose!" He muttered, hugging her fiercely. "That thing-there!" He gestured wildly to the Nestene Consciousness. "It talks! I swear! I tried to get away, really, but there were too many of them and I just-"

Rose shushed him, worried that he was going to get slightly hysterical. "Shh. It's going to be alright, yea? The Doctor will sort it."

Albus blinked. "The Doctor?" He saw the Doctor conversing with the Nestene Consciousness. "I thought he was trying to kill you?"

The Doctor turned away from his conversation and raised an eyebrow. "You thought I was trying to kill you?" He asked.

"You blew up my job!" Rose defended. "You kept showing up wherever I went! Excuse me for being a bit suspicious!" Then she added gleefully. "But look, Doctor! Al is alive! Stinking,-"

"Oi!"

"-but alive!"

"Yea," The Doctor said, not sounding nearly as happy as she would have liked him to sound. "I suppose that was always a possibility. Needed him alive to maintain the copy."

"You knew that and you never said anything?" Rose demanded hotly.

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank-you?" He asked lightly. His eyes darted nervously between the Nestene Consciousness and Rose. Rose rolled her eyes, but otherwise didn't say anything. Rose helped Albus stand up and they watched as the Doctor moved closer to the Consciousness.

"Am I addressing the Consciousness?"

The blob jiggled in reply. If Rose had to guess, that was a 'yes.'

"Thank you." The Doctor answered, confirming Rose's suspicions. "If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warped, shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?"

The Doctor thought his joke was clever and smiled as he said it. When the plastic responded with another, more violent, wobble, the Doctor's smile dropped.

Not good.

"Oh don't give me that, it's an invasion! Plain and simple! Don't talk about constitutional rights!" Rose couldn't believe what she was seeing.

The Nestene Consciousness didn't seem happy about this. It reared its head angrily. Rose grabbed onto her cousin tightly, scared, and they took a few steps backward. The Doctor looked completely calm, albeit annoyed.

"I- am - talking!" The Doctor was cross. Once the Nestene Consciousness had quieted, he continued. "This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf - please, just go."

Rose couldn't help but smile. She let go of Al and took a few steps towards the Doctor. For a moment, she believed that everything was going to be okay. The Consciousness was going to listen and leave. The Earth would be safe.

The end.

Then Rose noticed the crash test dummy and the mannequin (wearing a wedding dress, oddly enough), walking towards the Doctor, arms reaching towards him.

"Doctor!" Rose called. The Doctor looked behind him in time to see the plastic beings. He didn't have time to react, though, as they both grabbed him. The dummy reached into the Doctor's pocket and pulled out the anti-plastic.

"That was just insurance! I wasn't going to use it!" he tried to assure them. The Consciousness clearly wasn't buying it. It gibbered angrily.

"I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not..." The Doctor pleaded. He trailed off as the Consciousness said something else. Looking properly confused, the Doctor asked, "What do you mean?"

The sound of creaking metal alerted Rose and Al to doors opening above them, revealing the TARDIS. Al nudged her arm and whispered, "What is that?" Rose shushed him.

The Doctor was quick to respond. "Oh, oh no - honestly, no! Yes, that's my ship."

Albus gave her a look that said, "Seriously?"

Rose didn't have a chance to respond as the plastic roared.

Loudly.

Rose didn't even know that plastic _could _roar.

"That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war - it wasn't my fault! I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!"

"What's it doing!" Rose cried as the Consciousness cried louder. The room was beginning to shake worse than the TARDIS had earlier. Rose was thrown against a railing and Al fell flat on the floor.

"It's the TARDIS!" The Doctor answered, struggling to get free. "The Nestene has identified its superior technology - it's terrified! It's going to the final base. It's starting the invasion! Get out, Rose! Get Al and just leg it! Now!"

Rose couldn't do that. Not yet. She pulled out the mobile she had bought at Hugo's insistence. At the time, she thought that the entire family getting mobile phones was one of the most pointless things her brother had ever made them all do, but her mother had thought it was a good idea, and now she understood why.

She quickly dialed her brother. He picked up after the second ring. "Hugo?"

"Rose," he answered cheerfully. "I was just about to call you. How are you feeling?"

Rose didn't bother answering. Covering one of her ears with her other hand to block out the noise and better hear her brother, she demanded, "Where are you?"

"I just left the Ministry. I had a job interview, remember?"

"Go home! Just go home, right now!" Rose ordered.

"Rose, you're breaking up." Hugo's voice said clearly over the phone. She wasn't breaking up. The Nestene Consciousness was just getting louder. "Listen, I just need to stop by the apothecary, but then I'll meet you at your place. See you soon."

"Hugo? Hugo?" Rose yelled frantically when Hugo hung up. Rose flipped her phone off and tucked it back into her pocket. Al had been listening to her curiously and had guessed how the conversation had gone. He now looked as worried as she felt.

"It's the activation signal! It's transmitting!" The Doctor cried. Rose couldn't see much from her position, but from the uncovered manhole, she caught a glimpse of a bright flash of blue light.

"It's the end of the world," Rose whispered, horrified.

Rose heard a loud whir as the activation signal began to be transmitted from the London Eye.

"Get out, Rose! Just get out! Run!" the Doctor yelled. Rose pulled Al and headed for the stairs, but a part of the ceiling fell in. They were both battered with debris and, when the dust had settled, Rose felt despair move into the pit of her stomach.

"The stairs have gone!" She called, turning and running to the TARDIS. She and Al tried desperately to open the door, but it was locked. Al tried using an unlocking charm, but that didn't work.

"I haven't got the key!" Rose called.

"An unlocking charm didn't work!" Al added. They both crouched down near the bottom of the TARDIS, hoping beyond hope that it would at least shield them from some of the danger surrounding them.

Rose watched, eyes wide, as the Doctor continued to try and get the anti-plastic. She turned to Al. "We have to help him!"

Al looked at the distance between them and the Doctor, and all of the plastic men in between them. "There's nothing we can do! There are too many of them!"

"I've got an idea!" Rose said, standing up, Al rising to stand next to her. "I need to get a bit closer." Rose told him. Al nodded, understanding her unspoken request, and took his wand and aimed it at one of the dummies.

"_Confringo_!" He said sharply. The dummy exploded and the other plastic men turned to look at Al, seeing him as a threat now. Albus pushed Rose to the side and shot another blast at the plastic men, this time missing on purpose so he could keep the plastics busy.

Rose took the opportunity while they were distracted and slipped past them, walking closer to the railing. Here, she had a better view of the crash test dummy holding the Doctor's anti-plastic. She fingered her own wand.

"I've got no NEWTs. No job. No future. But I'll tell you what: there _is_ one thing that Uncle Harry made sure that all us kids could do!" Rose raised her wand. "_Expelliarmus!"_

It might not have been a wand that the dummy was holding, but the Disarming Charm worked like, well, a charm. The anti-plastic vial flew from the dummy's hand and into hers. She wouldn't be able to chuck it into the Nestene Consciousness from this distance, so, using a Severing Charm, she disconnected a chain from the wall and pulled it towards her.

"I hope this works as well as in the movies," she muttered, before stepping off the ledge. For a moment she was worried that her plan had failed and that she was falling, but then the chain jerked, and she was swinging.

Swinging! Not falling!

The chain swung her the Nestene Consciousness, she dropped the anti-plastic inside and, once she had swung closer to the Doctor, she kicked the plastic creatures holding him. Rose's grip faltered, though, but the Doctor was ready to catch her.

He grinned at her and they both turned to look at the Consciousness, which was writhing and screaming in what Rose assumed to be pain.

"Now we're in trouble," the Doctor mused, looking just a tad worried. The Consciousness began to explode, so he and Rose quickly ran to the TARDIS, Al meeting them there. Rose gave the Consciousness one last grin before walking into the TARDIS after the Doctor. Al hesitated by the door, so Rose grabbed the lapel of his jacket and yanked him inside, where the Doctor was fiddling with controls.

Rose heard the explosion of flames, but it sounded distant, as though it were at the end of a long tunnel. Then it was gone. The Doctor had taken them away. Rose turned to make sure her cousin was alright. He was shaken, a bit bruised, but not hurt.

Al turned his wide-eyed gaze to her. "Wow."

"I know," Rose giggled. She was cut short by a sudden jolt as the TARDIS landed. Together, the three of them exited the ship. Albus took several gulps of air, while Rose dialed Hugo. When he answered, she was met with his frantic pleas and warnings for her to stay inside. Satisfied that he was unhurt, she hung up on him

She was sure he'd understand.

"So," Al said after a moment, once he had collected himself. "Aliens?"

"Yea," Rose said, looking nervously between Al and the Doctor, who was leaning against the side of his ship. Albus nodded.

"Right," he muttered. "Well, can we not tell James about this?"

Rose frowned. That was unexpected. "Why not? You did brilliantly."

"It was your idea," Al denied. "I just went along with it. Besides, if I told him that I was almost killed by a trashcan, he'd never let me hear the end of it."

The Doctor snorted and Rose glared at him. "Don't be laughing at him! It's not like you were much better!"

"Of course I was!" The Doctor protested, puffing himself up, the picture of male pride. "Nestene Consciousness? Easy!"

Rose was skeptical. "Easy, eh? You'd be dead if it wasn't for me! Admit it!"

"Yes, I would" he agreed quietly. Rose was taken aback. She hadn't expected him to admit anything. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"You're welcome," she told him softly. For a moment, neither one of them said anything. Rose, growing uncomfortable with his tense stare, shoved her hands in her pocket.

"So," she said, breaking the silence. "That it, then? You leaving?"

The Doctor was broken out of his thoughts and looked a bit surprised. "Ah, yea," he said after a moments hesitation. "I'd best be off. Bound to be people asking questions- and that's never a good thing for a guy like me."

"Right," Rose said. She wrinkled her nose. "Reporters and scientists and probes and all."

The Doctor nodded. He looked at his ship for a moment, contemplative. "It's not just a London hopper, you know."

"What?" Rose asked. The Doctor patted the side of his ship.

"The TARDIS. She doesn't just do London. She can go anywhere in the Universe." Rose wondered whether or not this was an invitation. "Free of charge."

"Seriously?" Rose questioned.

"Seriously." The Doctor affirmed. "You could stay here, too, of course. It's up to you. Stay here and fill your life with work and chips, or go...anywhere."

Rose was tempted. So tempted.

"Is it always this dangerous?"

The Doctor grinned. "Oh yes."

Rose opened and closed her mouth a few times.

_Say yes. Say yes. Say yes._

"I can't." Rose felt Al tense behind her.

"Rose-" he whispered. Rose put her arm around him.

"I've got family here. I can't just jet off. I need them and they need me. It's how family works, you know?"

The Doctor doesn't chide her. He doesn't call her stupid for her decision. But his smile does drop slightly. "Okay. See you around."

He opened the door to his ship and stepped inside. Not once did his eyes leave hers, not even as he closed the door. Rose didn't move as the TARDIS's engines began to hum. The TARDIS disappeared. Rose let out a sigh.

"Let's go," she said to her cousin. Al didn't move. He just shook his head.

"Rose," he asked her, "what did you just do?"

Seeing her confusion, he elaborated, "You've been itching for so long to get out there and do something great with your life, then the perfect opportunity opens up and you just let it slip away?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Rose demanded. "I couldn't just run off with an alien! Not with my mum and dad not knowing!"

"I'm sure they would have understood," Al denied. Rose's jaw dropped.

"Al, have you met my parents?"

"Fair enough," Al conceded. "But I could have covered for you. Somehow."

Rose looked at him. _Really _looked at him. "You would have done that for me?"

"Of course. You're my best friend, Rose." He told her softly. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"It doesn't matter," she said finally. "He's gone. It's too late to-"

Rose was cut off by the loud sound of the TARDIS reappearing. The Doctor popped his head out the doors. He smiled knowingly at her. "By the way - did I mention it also travels in time?"

Something inexplicable passed between them. Then the Doctor moved back into the TARDIS, leaving the door open.

Rose turned to Al. "Thanks."

_For everything._

She doesn't say for what, but he knew. "You're welcome."

Rose kissed his cheek and gives his hand a reassuring squeeze. She released it and then ran to the TARDIS, a bright smile on her a face.

Al watched as the Doctor took his cousin away. He waited a few minutes after the TARDIS disappeared, then turned and walked away. The magnitude of what he had done hit him. He had let-no, encouraged his cousin to go off with a man she had just met.

An _alien._

It went against everything their parents had ever taught them.

He _better _come up with a good cover story now. For his sake, as much as Rose's, because if Rose's mother ever found out what he had done, she would kill him.

Nephew or not.

That night, he returned home to an empty flat for the first time in years.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Alright, I guess. That's it! Episode 1: Done. The next episode? Father's day! However, I'm renaming it. I'm calling it "A Wound in Time." I think. We'll see how it goes.<strong>

**Let me know what you think (of the first episode, of future episodes, of the title, whether or not I got the characters right, etc. etc. Anything. Everything. But not nothing. Getting nothing makes me sad, I will admit)!**

**love,**

**tinyrose65**


	7. Sundae Bloody Sundae

He had done it. Finally done it. After so many years, so many failed attempts, he had finally done what no other had. His master would have been so proud, had he lived. His wife, too.

But they were gone.

Dead.

Lost so many years ago that, were it not for the burning devotion he felt to both, he would have hardly remembered them.

Now he could change it. He could fix it. His master would rise again, triumphant, and he would be beside him.

First, though, he needed to get inside. There was little he could do from out here, even with his knowledge of history. He huddled in a corner of the alley, knowing that being seen was something that he could not allow to happen.

Not here.

A loud whir caught his attention. From out of nowhere, it seemed, a large blue box materialized into the dank alley. After a few minutes, two people emerged. One, an older man, dressed in almost all black, was throwing on a leather jacket to protect him from the cool air.

His companion was young, blonde, and familiar.

So familiar.

But that was impossible. She shouldn't be here. Then again, neither should he. He couldn't question it. However it happened, it was a stroke of luck. She was one of _them. _Her blood wouldn't activate the wards. He would just need to get her alone.

The two were joking.

"Great place to land us, Doctor." She wrinkled her nose and lifted her foot up as she stepped in something vile.

"At least I got the date right this time," he brushed off. He took her hand and the two began to walk out of the darkness and into the sunshine.

He followed.

The Dark Lord would rise again, and she was the key to it all.

_Several Minutes Earlier_

Rose had saved her planet. She had seen the end of the world. She had met _Charles Dickens. _ She was currently living on a bigger-on-the-inside-spaceship with a standing invitation from her time-traveler best friend to go anywhere she wanted.

Well, right now, Rose Weasley desperately wanted a sundae.

But not just any sundae! One of Florean Fortescue's sundaes. Complete with whipped cream, fudge, and a cherry on top.

Personally, Rose thought that it was a completely reasonable request. The Doctor, however, didn't seem to think so.

"A sundae?" He laughed from the other side of the console. "I give you all of time and space, and you ask for a bleedin' _sundae?"_

"Why not?" Rose shrugged. "Besides, it's time for me to go home anyways."

The Doctor's smile fell. "Oh."

Rose understood his reluctance, so she continued. "If I'm going to be staying here any longer, I need my own clothes and stuff. Can't keep borrowing from the TARDIS wardrobe."

The Doctor smiled again, warming her heart. Rose hadn't known the Doctor for very long, but in that short amount of time, she had gotten the impression that he didn't smile like that very often. The fact that she could get him to do it made her very happy.

"Alright then. We'll pop the TARDIS into Diagon Alley, have your sundae, stop by your place to get what you need, then-"

"Off we go!" Rose cheered. Rose recognized the sight and sound of the Doctor beginning to dial in their coordinates, even if she had no idea how he was doing it.

"Not too long after we left, yea?" she requested politely. "Maybe just a day or two? I don't want my family to worry too much."

"Your wish is my command." The Doctor said simply. Rose watched him from the Captain's chair, fiddling with her wand. She sat up straight as she remembered something.

"I never asked, but how did you find out about magic?" Rose asked. The Doctor looked at her blankly.

"Whad'ya mean?"

"Well, c'mon," she protested, laughing. "It's the best kept secret in Britain! Not just anybody learns about it! Alien or not! So c'mon then! How'd you know?"

The Doctor gave her a mischievous smile. He looked like a schoolboy about to put a tack on his teacher's chair. "Let's just say I'm a good friend of Merlin's."

Rose almost toppled to the floor in shock. "What, seriously?"

"Oh yea," The Doctor beamed. "We're so close, in fact, you might even say we're almost the same person."

"You're telling me you're actually Merlin?" Rose asked, unable to believe it. The Doctor nodded.

Rose had seen paintings of Merlin, and the Doctor looked nothing like him. Unless, of course, the Doctor was some sort of master of disguise. Rose doubted it, considering the fact that he always wore the same thing, no matter where they went.

"But in paintings and stuff Merlin is always depicted as an old man!"

"History gets it wrong sometimes, Rose," The Doctor reminded her. Rose shook her head though.

"Yea, but that's for Muggles. Wizards have a different way of keeping track of history, you know that."

"Well, this was a long time ago. I was a completely different man, so to speak." The Doctor said. Rose got the impression that his words had a double meaning, as they often did. He talked like that a lot, the Doctor did. Rose didn't want to risk ruining the good mood, by delving into it, so she let it pass.

"But you don't have magic!" She argued. The Doctor gave her the Look. The same look he gave her on Platform One when she asked him who he was. It was also the same look he gave her in Cardiff when she had argued with him about recycling dead bodies. It was the look that made her feel tiny and small and young, and reminded her that, for all that he looked like and talked like, the Doctor was not human.

Not by a long shot.

"Magic is just another form of science, Rose. Take the Muggles. They have numbers. Give 'em the right ones, the right equations, and they can split the atom. Wizards use words. Words, said at the right time, in the right way, with the right wand movement. You lot can use that to harness psychic energy, do almost anything. "

"And you can do it, too?" Rose asked.

"O' course I can!"

"You think you're so impressive!"

"I am so impressive!"

"Merlin's beard," Rose whispered after giggling for a minute, shocked. Then she paused and smiled teasingly at him, tongue poking out from between her teeth. "Sorry, or would that be 'the Doctor's beard?'"

The Doctor pointed a small mallet at her. "I did not have a beard. Now hush up and hold tight. Its's going to be a bumpy ride."

"Isn't it always?" Rose asked. The TARDIS chose that moment to give a particularly large jolt as it landed, throwing Rose from her chair and onto the floor. The grating dug into her ribs a bit, making her gasp. Once the shaking had stopped, she hauled herself to her feet using the chair for support.

"If I didn't know any better," she sputtered accusingly at the Doctor, "I'd say that you did that on purpose!"

"I would never!" The Doctor laughed, shrugging on his leather jacket. Rose laughed and followed him outside. Wherever the Doctor had parked them, there was no sunlight. It seemed to be a small alley, from the looks of it. She coughed as she breathed in some of the dank air and the ungodly smell.

"Great place to land us, Doctor." Rose felt something squishy beneath one of her feet and lifted up her shoe, revealing something gooey and brown. Bile rose in her throat. _I really hope that's mud._

"At least I got the date right this time," The Doctor told her proudly. He took her hand and lead her out of the alley and into the sunshine. _This _was the Diagon Alley Rose remembered. There were people bustling about, vendors hawking their wares.

Rose felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle and she turned around quickly. She blinked into the shadows of the alley, but couldn't see anything. For a moment, though, she could have sworn she was being watched.

"Rose?" The Doctor questioned, looking back with her. He gave her hand a gentle tug, trying to make sure she was okay. She shook the feeling off.

"It's nothing," Rose denied. "Just a shadow. Listen, you mind if I stop at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes? See how construction is going? I won't be long," Rose assured. "Just goin' to pop in and say a quick hello."

"Shouldn't be a problem," The Doctor nodded.

"Why don't you head to the Leaky Cauldron while you wait?" Rose offered. "Might not be a good idea for you to go hanging around the shop, in case somebody saw you or something."

"Nobody saw me," The Doctor huffed.

"Still," Rose pushed him gently towards the pub. "Go and have yourself a pint of, well, whatever it is you drink. We'll meet at Florean Fortescue's in an hour or so, alright?"

"Alright," The Doctor perked up a bit. "Wouldn't say no to some Butterbeer, truth be told."

They parted, each walking their own way. At one point, Rose looked back in time to see the Doctor about to enter the pub. He caught Rose's eye and gave her a little wave. She laughed at his antics and returned it. Once he entered the Leacky Cauldron, Rose turned around and walked quickly in the direction of her Uncle's shop.

She couldn't help but notice subtle differences in Diagon Alley, though. The people, although plentiful, were not loud. There were no children running about in the streets. Wizards and Witches walked quickly, if not urgently, with their heads down and hoods up.

The shops looked different, too. Diagon Alley shops rarely changed. Instead, they simply acquired new owners, who usually preferred to keep things as they were. Her Uncles' shop was one of the newest shops Diagon Alley had in a while. Still, the shops_ were _different. It was subtle, sure, but there. Some were newer than Rose had remembered. Others, more worn down. It was all very odd.

Picking up her pace and deciding that she wanted to see her uncle and find the Doctor as fast as she could, Rose looked about her warily. It wouldn't be good to be caught off guard.

"Oomph," she gasped, as she accidentally bumped into an older wizard. _Caught off guard, indeed, _she thought wryly.

"Watch it!" the man snapped, righting himself. He stalked off, mumbling. "Stupid kids, always running about. Don't they know there's a war going on?"

"War?" Rose muttered. There hadn't been a War since Uncle Harry defeated Lord Voldemort, but that was almost thirty years ago. "What war?"

Looking around, Rose caught the attention of the nearest witch. Not much older than she was, the witch was plump, with a kind, but worn, face. "'Scuse me, miss? Is there some sort of war going on?"

The witch looked at her as though she were daft. "Of course there is! Where have you been?"

"Away," Rose answered. Then, trying to divert the attention back to the war, she asked, "Who's it against? The war, I mean?"

"Who else? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!"

"Lord Voldemort!" Rose gasped. The witched shushed her, glancing around fearfully. Rose whispered, "but he was defeated years ago!"

"I wish," the witch sighed. Rose looked around the Alley again, trying to make sense of everything. None of this made sense. The witched looked at her, concerned. "Are you alright, love?"

"I just," Rose stuttered. The witch patted her on the arm.

"One of those nights, then?"

Rose forced a laugh. "Yea, something like that. You mind giving me the date? The entire thing?"

"April 4, 1980," the witch said. Rose felt nauseous. The Doctor _had _gotten the date right. He just overshot his landing and got the year a bit wrong.

Again.

Honestly, why did she have to land herself the only alien in the universe who couldn't even drive his own bloody space ship!

"Right, o'course," Rose muttered. She turned to the witch. "Well, thanks for your help. I'm going to go strangle somebody now."

"Oh, okay," the woman said, taken aback. Rose didn't stop to assure the woman that she didn't mean it. She was too desperate to get the Doctor and then get _out._ Of all the years to land in, it had to be during the middle of the First Wizarding War.

As Rose walked, she pulled her own hood up, and kept her face down, too. The last thing she wanted was to be noticed. Rose hadn't had much experience in this sort of thing, but, from Rose remembered from those Muggle films she had seen with Hugo, nothing good ever happened when a person was seen out of their time.

As Rose made her way to the Leaky Cauldron, in between plotting ways to kill the Doctor and imagining all of the ways this could go wrong, Rose couldn't help but mull over the date. _April 4, 1980. _

Something very important happened here. She was sure of it. She just _couldn't _remember. She blamed Professor Binns's ridiculously long lectures, casting the thought out of her mind. It probably wasn't-

Rose screamed as the glass window of the shop next to her shattered, sending shards everywhere. Around her, everywhere she looked, people were scrambling for a place to hide as Death Eaters invaded the Alley.

_Of course," _she thought, crawling underneath some of the rubble. _April 4, 1980: Date of one of the largest attacks on Diagon Alley in history. _ Rose watched, horrified, as men, women and children fell around her. She heard sobbing from next to her and Rose saw a little boy, no more than seven years old, huddled under a piece of wood, trying to protect himself.

_There's nothing you can do, _she reminded herself, _you can't change history. This already happened._

_But the Doctor says that time is fluid! That it isn't fixed!_

_Back to Future! Think Back to the Future! You change something here, who knows what you'll go back home to!_

_I can't just leave him here!_

_Alright, then. Get him then get out of sight. You can't be seen. Find somewhere safe to hide. Being killed wouldn't be good either._

Having completed her moral battle, Rose hauled herself up and grabbed the little boy's hand. He went to scream, so she covered his mouth and raised her finger to her own lips. He quieted, sensing that she was a friend. Using the debris for cover, they began to head away from the center of the chaos. Off in the distance, she could see an abandoned building, looking relatively untouched. She knew the building survived because she had seen it, looking much the same, in her own time. If she could just get there, she could hide out in one of the back storerooms. The only problem was that there was a lot of open space in between her and the safety of the store.

Taking a deep breath, she hopped to her feet and pulled they little boy up with her. They ran for all they were worth. She could hear the screaming behind her but, miraculously, nobody seemed to notice her. Risking a glance backwards, Rose realized that the Aurors had arrived, and were keeping the Death Eaters busy.

Rose almost sobbed with relief when she reached the store. She yanked the door open and shut it behind her, gasping loudly. The boy plopped down on the floor, spent. The slamming of the door stirred up dust that probably hadn't been moved in months, if not years.

"Hello?" she called hesitantly. Nobody answered, so either nobody was here, or they were very good at hiding. Satisfied that she was alone for the time being, she turned to her new friend. "Whats your name, sweetheart?"

"Russell," he sniffled. "Russell Jones."

Rose smiled gently. "Pleasure to meet you, Russell. I'm Rose."

Russell smiled at her.

Rose eyed the outside of the shop, where chaos still reigned. "Whad'ya say you and I go into the back and look for a place to hide, yea?"

Russell nodded and took her hand again. They walked swiftly into the back room. Hopefully she could find a place to hide amongst the stacks and stacks of boxes. Speaking of...

"You know what this shop is for?" she asked him curiously. "I've always wondered."

Russell shook his head. "It's always been here. Mum says that it was open when she was a kid, but she can't remember what it used to sell."

"Well, let's have a look, then." Rose smiled. She opened one of the boxes gently. Rose pulled out an old robe and saw more lying underneath it. So it was a clothing shop.

She wrinkled her nose at the ugly color of the polyester. _No wonder it went out of business._

Rose was just about to place the robe back in the box when pain exploded in the back of her head.

She saw a flash of green light and heard the thud of a body hitting the ground.

_Russell..._

Then, darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Guess that's it then. So as you can probably tell, this will be just a bit different than the original Father's Day. As Angelic Toaster pointed out, we already know what happened with Rose's parents (thanks to the brilliant J.K. Rowling), so I decided to go a bit further back to a time that, let's be honest, we don't know too much about. <strong>

**Hope you enjoy it!**

**P.S. Special thanks to ****Angelic Toaster, animenut412, moonlightshade, Fury of the Wolves, and David Tennant Stalker for their reviews. You can't tell, but I am sending you each a big, virtual, hug.**


	8. An Old Man and a Pointy Hat

The Doctor took a sip of Butterbeer, then pushed it aside. It had been a while since he had drank the stuff. Not since before the war. It brought back too many memories, far too many. If he was going to be remembering, he would be better off with some Firewhiskey.

It wouldn't be good, though, to be drunk while Rose was around. He doubted she would be too happy about it and it was never a good idea to drive the TARDIS while drunk. He could barely make her go where he wanted when he was sober (not for a lack of trying), so he didn't even want to try adding alcohol to the equation.

It was moments like these that the responsibilities of being the designated driver almost made him want to teach his companions to drive.

Almost.

He was a tad broody in this regeneration, he noted. To be expected, he supposed. Still, never had he considered drinking on the job.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" came the voice of an old man from behind him. The Doctor turned around to say that he was actually finished, when he came face to face with a man he had never thought he would meet.

Albus Dumbledore.

"It's you!" He beamed, hopping up from his seat and letting the respected wizard take his chair. "Huge fan, I am! _Huge _fan! I loved your treatise on the uses of Dragon's blood! Sheer _genius! _Revolutionary, that was."

"Thank-you, Doctor," he chuckled, as the Doctor took his seat. "It is nice to know that somebody still reads my work."

"Oh, don't say that," the Doctor denied. "Plenty of people-" He stopped as he realized something. The grin dropped from his face and he fixed the wizard with a glare.

He demanded cooly, "How do you know who I am?"

"Oh, we've met several times before, old friend," Dumbledore said, sounding quite pleased at the turn of events. "Although, perhaps not yet in your timeline."

"Really?" The Doctor said.

Time-travel always made making friends rather difficult. Situations like this, while unusual, weren't unheard of. He didn't let his guard down, but did stop glaring, instead choosing to sit back in his chair.

"Oh, yes." Dumbledore agreed. "The last time I spoke with you, Doctor, you mentioned to me that the first time you met me was here, in the Leaky Cauldron, while you waited for your companion to return."

"Oh, Rose!" The Doctor suddenly grinned again. "You've got to stay and meet her! She grew up hearing stories about you and her parents, after all-"

Wait just a tick.

"You're supposed to be dead," the Doctor spat out. Dumbledore looked puzzled, but not at all angry or surprised.

"Pardon?"

"It's April 4, 2025. You shouldn't be alive."

"Well, therein lies the problem. The date, Doctor, is April 4, 1980."

The Doctor bolted from his chair and grabbed the paper of the nearest patron, ignoring his shout of protest. He flipped to the front page of the prophet and, sure enough, the date was listed as _April 4, 1980, _printed in clear letters for him to see. Below that was an article detailing the Ministry's failed attempts to stop the Death Eater rebellion.

"Rose!" He whispered, horrified. He shoved the paper back at the man and hopped over a chair, desperate to get to the door. If his history was right (and his history was _perfect_), then he did not have much time before-

He dropped to the floor as the glass windows shattered, revealing the screams of the people outside.

-that.

He stood up again. The Doctor was not going to wait for the battle to be up. Rose was smart. She had probably figured something out what had happened at this point and was no doubt plotting to kill him. That wouldn't have cheered him up under normal circumstances, but considering the fact that she had to be alive in order to kill him, it meant she had most likely found a safe place to ride out the battle.

Unless, of course, she decided to fight in the battle. Knowing her, that was exactly what she would do. Never mind the fact that she had no experience, no NEWTs, and no idea what she was doing. She would rather risk dying than stand by and watch other people suffer. Quite a few of the apes on this planet would, actually.

The Doctor would never understand this species. For all their faults and war and bloodshed, they could teach other societies quite a few lessons about compassion and sacrifice.

_Please let her have one ounce of common sense, _he thought, as he opened the door to the Leaky Cauldron. He was met with the flashes of light and puffs of smoke that usually accompanied a wizard battle. Armed with only his sonic screwdriver, he was about to step outside, when a hand on his arm stopped him.

He turned to meet Albus Dumbledore's disapproving gaze. The Doctor guessed that it was the same glare he used on unruly students. It didn't work on him, though. He was over 900 years old, after all.

"I need to find my friend," The Doctor intoned darkly.

"Take my word. Your friend is fine."

"That something else I mentioned to you about today?" The Doctor asked sarcastically.

"Yes, as a matter of fact."

"I've got quite a gob on me in this past of yours, don't I?"

"You have no idea, my dear boy." Before the Doctor could say anything to that, Dumbledore stepped through the door and outside, ordering him to stay here and protect the citizens. The Doctor scowled a the _nerve _of him. He sighed and looked at the scared patrons.

"Well, don't just stand there!" He urged, using his sonic screwdriver to seal the door. "Come on! Get tables and chairs! Block the doors! Repair the windows! Hurry up, now! Where's your common sense?"

"What's the point?" snapped a young man in a thick, scottish accent. "They'd just blast through it again!"

"They're Death Eaters," The Doctor said as thought that explained all of it. "You make it harder for them to get in here, they're not gonna try. They'll just go find easier pickings somewhere else."

"He's right!" piped up one voice from the back of the room. "We need to try!"

All those capable of magic began to levitate tables and chairs towards the front door and fixed the windows. Those who didn't posses magic shut the blinds and turned off the lights.

After that, they remained silent, waiting tensely. The Doctor was not a patient man. Not this time around, at least. He was gripping the edge of a chair so tightly that his knuckles were white. The massacre was recorded to have lasted approximately five minutes, then the aurors would show up and the Death Eaters would scatter. Not very long at all, but it still left dozens of people dead. The Doctor counted the minutes in his head.

Every now and then a loud thud would echo around the Leaky Cauldron as some Death Eater or another tried to gain entry. The Doctor was sent hurtling to the ground as the building shook violently. Once the Death Eaters realized that the patrons had blocked the entrance, they left, just as the Doctor predicted.

The Doctor counted down.

_7 minutes..._

_4 minutes..._

_1 minute ..._

Outside, things went calm. The Doctor could hear the crying of men and women mourning for their loved ones, the whimpers of scared children. He wondered if Rose was amongst them. Heaving himself up off of the ground, he checked around to make sure that everybody else was alright. They looked unscathed.

"Unblock the entrance," he ordered.

"Are you insane?" demanded one witch.

"Yes, probably," The Doctor informed her with a tight smile. He let it drop off of his face. "The Death Eaters are gone and the aurors are here. It's safe."

The wizards and witches didn't hesitate this time. He had already proven himself as a man to trust. They did as he said, except for that one witch.

"Yes, but-"

"There are people out there who are hurt and dying!" snapped the Doctor.

"We aren't healers!" wailed one young man.

"You don't have to be!" the Doctor said, as though scolding an unruly child.

He took a deep breath and began to speak with a patience that he really didn't possess at the moment. Rose could be out there somewhere hurt-or worse, but the Doctor didn't let himself think of that, and he was stuck here with some of the stupidest wizards he had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

He was going to kill Albus Dumbledore. Never mind interfering with the time-line. He was a Time Lord and therefore more than clever enough to get away with it.

"Some of you know a thing or two about basic first aid. You can help with minor injuries: cuts, bruises, and the like. The staff can help by setting up a workstation. You'll need bandages, clean water, food, and blankets. The rest of you start looking under the rubble for survivors. We clear?"

There was a mumble of assent. Once he was satisfied that they were going to do what he had ordered, the Doctor opened the door. The smell of blood and sweat greeted them. Diagon Alley was covered in ruins and it looked as though this particular section had been the hardest hit by the massacre.

Any other man might have retched at the sight that greeted them, but not the Doctor. After he took a good look around him and squared his shoulders, he began to walk in the direction of (the future) Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Rose couldn't be far.

He stopped at the point where he and Rose had separated earlier.

_From the moment we parted, exactly 4 minutes and 27 seconds passed before the battle began, meaning-_

The Doctor darted through the crowds, ignoring the shouts of the aurors for him to stop. He tuned out the devastation around him and did his best to retrace Rose's steps until he finally got to where he wanted to be.

_-Rose would have been here when the fights broke out. _

He looked for any sign of her.

All around him, the Doctor saw and death and destruction: bodies lying under rubble, eyes open in terror. Parents mourning for their children.

All around him, the Doctor saw _life_: survivors making their way towards the Leaky Cauldron. Aurors respectfully cataloguing the dead. Normal witches and wizards each trying to help each other understand the magnitude of what had just occurred.

Nowhere did he see Rose.

_But wait, _the Doctor realized. _Rose is clever. She grew up here. The chances of her walking through the streets and not noticing the changes are near impossible. That means she would have tried to figure out what was happening. Considering Rose's penchant for the domestic, she had probably asked somebody and that would have slowed her down considerabley._

_It would put her right about..._

The Doctor backtracked, earning quite a few odd looks from the aurors, probably wondering what in the world he was doing running back and forth in a war zone.

_...here._

The Doctor looked around once again, searching for any sign of his companion. This section of Diagon Alley was a ways away from the center of the chaos, but there was still a great deal of damage. He didn't see Rose anywhere, not amongst the dead, but not amongst the living, either. She might have hidden somewhere, but there were several buildings that she might have hidden in.

This might take a while.

Picking a building at random, he began to work his way through the crowd, apologizing every so often when he ran into somebody too hard.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor stopped short and turned around. Rose stood in the middle of the rubble, a dazed and slightly hesitant expression on her face. Dumbledore was next to her, a hand resting gently on her shoulder. She looked unhurt.

"Rose!" He cheered running over to her and picking her up in a large hug. "I found you!"

"Actually, I found her," Albus corrected unsurely.

"You alright?" The Doctor ignored. Rose nodded.

"Yea," she said, gesturing behind her. "I hid out over there in that building."

"Anybody with you?"

Rose opened and closed her mouth for a minute. "No, I was alone."

"Really?" The Doctor stopped scanning her with his screwdriver. "You didn't try to save anybody? Didn't try to help anybody?"

"Well, I... I wanted to." Rose stuttered. "I just didn't think it would a good idea. Messing with time, and all."

"Good call," the Doctor said after a moment.

Something wasn't right. Rose wasn't as dumb as most of the stupid apes on this planet of hers, but she was a Gryffindor if ever there was one. Even if she had realized how dangerous it would be to mess with time, the Doctor doubted she would have hidden without saving _anybody._

"You _sure _you alright?" he asked after another pause.

"Yea, fine," she answered quickly. "Just hit my head."

"I need to get you back to the TARDIS," the Doctor confirmed to himself. "Get you to the infirmary for testing."

"TARDIS?" Rose asked blankly.

"My ship," The Doctor said slowly.

"Oh right! Of course!" Rose said. "How could I forget that?" she mumbled. She looked more than a bit lost, though.

The Doctor frowned, worried, and turned to Dumbledore. "She's worse off than I thought if she doesn't even remember the TARDIS. Was she like this when you found her?"

"She was perfectly fine when I found her, Doctor." Dumbledore assured.

"Then why is she acting so odd?" the Doctor demanded, checking the back of her head for a bump. He did his best to ignore how soft her hair was, and the tangy scent of her rasberry shampoo.

Rassilon, he was going soft in his old age.

"I feel fine!" Rose denied, batting him away.

"Doctor," Dumbledore interjected, "May I point out that getting to your ship unnoticed might be a tad difficult at the moment, considering that the Aurors have closed off the area surrounding it."

"Well, then what do you suggest I do?"

"You best wait it out."

"Right, of course," The Doctor scowled. "Well since you seem to be so full of ideas today, then why don't you get this one through your thick skull: I need my ship. I need to check Rose over! Look at her!"

Rose looked down at herself, then turned back up to glare at the Doctor. He didn't have the time to be offended.

"Doctor-" Dumbledore began, speaking softly. They were getting quite a few stares at the moment and he thought it best to move somewhere a bit more private.

"Honestly," he cried, throwing his arms up. He ignored the glances sent his way. "Is that pointy hat of yours interfering with mental processes or are you being deliberately thick?"

"I was just going to suggest that you don't need your ship to check her over."

"Then where do you suggest I go?" he sulked.

"Come with me," Dumbledore said softly, leading them towards a more quiet portion of Diagon Alley.

"I'm running out of patience," sighed the Doctor, but he didn't resist. Instead, he let Dumbledore lead them into one of the abandoned buildings. There were a few aurors there, checking for survivors, but Dumbledore sent them away for a moment. Once they were alone, he shut the door and turned to them.

"I can take you somewhere," Dumbledore offered.

"Where?"

"Not for long, mind you, but long enough to check over your friend."

"Where?" the Doctor repeated.

"It's completely safe, completely secure, and completely secret."

"Where?" Rose, this time, asked, eyes shining brightly.

"Not many get the privilege of ever seeing, but after what you've done for me, Doctor-or will do, I can trust you with this."

"Great, thanks," the Doctor said. "Touched, really, I am. And I don't just mean in the head!" he quipped, allowing himself to smile.

"Now, you mind telling me where you're going to be taking us?" he huffed.

Dumbledore didn't answer. Instead, he just held out his hands. Rose didn't hesitate in taking it.

"Rose?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Well, come on Doctor," Rose insisted. "Dumbledore is on our side, you know that. And I thought you said you needed a place to check me out."

"Over," The Doctor corrected, the tips of his ears turning pink. "I said _over."_

"I know," Rose winked.

"Humans," he huffed, taking Dumbledore's offered arm, against his better judgement.

"We just got through one of the biggest massacres in wizarding history," he grumbled. " Yet, here you are, _flirting._"

Rose's reply was cut off by the tight, squeezing feeling of apparition that the Doctor despised so much.

When reality finally returned to them, the Doctor took in a gulp of air, rolling his shoulders to let go of some of the tension.

He looked around. Rose was fine, taking in the room around her. It was just a basic living room, nothing special, but the Doctor recognized it from pictures and paintings and stories. Judging by her expression, Rose recognized it as well.

"Welcome, Doctor, Rose," said Dumbledore told them serenely, "To the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."

* * *

><p><strong>Not a huge fan of this chapter, truth be told. Not much going on. From the looks of it, I'm not going to like the next chapter much, either. Ah well. Tell me what you think!<strong>

**tinyrose65**


	9. Reapers

He took another sip from the small flask he kept in his pocket. He daren't drink too much, though. He would need more later, although who knew when he would have a chance to take another swig.

He placed it back in his pocket, which he then patted gently. He could feel rattle as his flask bumped up against the small box that also rested there.

The very same box which held the precious cargo so vital to his plan.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

The Doctor rapped quickly on the bathroom door.

"Rose!" He called loudly, before crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe. "Hurry up in there!"

"I'm coming!" she hollered through the door. "Keep your knickers on!"

The door opened and she stepped out. She shot him an annoyed glare.

"Honestly," sighed the Doctor. "You women are always the same. What could possible be so important that you had to stay in there so long?"

"Sorry, can't say," Rose muttered.

"Why?" teased the Doctor. "Be breaking some sort of women's code?"

"Yea, sure," she muttered, obviously eager to get away. The Doctor caught hold of her arm to stop her. She huffed in annoyance.

"I told you, Doctor, you don't need to look me over again. I'm absolutely fine."

"I know," the Doctor told her affronted. "That's not why I dragged you out here. I need to warn you."

"About what?"

"Downstairs. Dumbledore has called an emergency Order meeting."

Rose smiled widely. It wasn't her normal smile, though. There was something in this smile that the Doctor couldn't place. Or rather, he could place. But he didn't understand what that sort of look was doing on Rose's face.

"That's perfect!"

"Rose," the Doctor cautioned, "you can't try and save them."

"I wasn't going to," Rose dismissed. She looked distracted.

"Rose, it doesn't work like that. You can't just-" the Doctor stopped. "Sorry, but did you just agree with me?"

"Yea," Rose assured. "I won't change history, promise."

"That's your family down there. Your uncle's family. All dead. You could change it." The Doctor didn't care about the callousness of his words. Something was wrong with Rose. He just needed to understand what it was.

"Right, but I trust you. If you say I can't change anything, then I won't." Rose didn't give him a chance to respond. She tugged his arm impatiently, like a child.

"Now, let's go! I don't want to miss anything!"

"Lead the way, then," he told her. He forced a grin onto his face and it must have been pretty believable, because then she grinned back and began to walk down the stairs.

When her back was turned, the Doctor aimed the sonic at her and scanned. As he followed her down the stairs, he examined the readings.

"Everything's normal," he muttered. Rose looked over her shoulder at him.

"You say something, Doctor?"

"No," the Doctor denied with a small shake of head. Rose shrugged and kept walking. The moment her back was turned, the Doctor's smile dropped.

He was still frowning when he entered what must have been the dining room. All around him stood some of the bravest men and women the war had ever seen.

Lily and James Potter.

Sirius Black.

Remus Lupin.

Alastor Moody.

Caradoc Dearborn.

Emmaline Vance.

Frank and Alice Longbottom.

Fabian and Gideon Prewett.

Edgar Bones.

Benjy Fenwick.

Aberforth Dumbledore.

Marlene McKinnon.

Dorcas Meadows.

Dedalus Diggle.

Elphias Doge.

Mundungus Fletcher.

(And Peter Pettigrew, but he hardly counted in the Doctor's mind).

The Doctor couldn't help the manic grin that spread across his face. Here it was. Right in front of him. The core of the resistance movement against one of the darkest figures in history. Magical or otherwise.

This_ right here _was why he loved humans. When everything was working against them, when they were being oppressed and hurt and hunted, they didn't run. They stood together and they fought.

They were far braver than he ever could be.

He looked over at Rose to see her reaction.

Rose didn't even blink. She didn't look at her great-uncles. She didn't glance at Sirius or Remus or Lily or James. She didn't flinch at the sight of Peter, a man who had destroyed the only family that her beloved Uncle ever had. Even more strange was that she didn't even let her eyes _flicker _towards Lily's pregnant stomach.

Something was definitely wrong. For the time being, he decided to follow Rose's lead and sat down in the chair next to her.

"If you would all settle down," called Dumbledore softly. "This emergency Order meeting has been called to discuss the terrible events that have transpired today."

"I just can't believe it," sighed Dorcas Meadows, quietly setting herself down onto one of the chairs.

"The Death Eaters are cruel, sure, but something like this... what purpose could all of those deaths serve?"

"Show of power," the Doctor answered simply. "Prove what he can do, what he _will _do. You get people scared, you get them panicked, they scatter, they get paranoid. Makes his fight that much easier."

The Doctor noticed Moody about to place his wand in his back pocket before he sat down.

"Oi," he called. "Don't put your wand there! Can you imagine the disaster if that thing went off?"

Moody paused, shocked that somebody would talk to him in such a manner. His glass-eye swirled rapidly, before he finally took his wand and placed it inside his jacket pocket.

"My wand holster broke earlier today," he growled out finally.

The Doctor arched his eyebrows.

"That's no excuse," he denied. "Hasn't anybody ever told you never to put your wand in your back pocket?"

"No, actually," Moody answered back. The Doctor blinked.

"Oh."

"But that's good advice. I'll remember that."

"Do," the Doctor confirmed.

"I see that some of you have met my good friend, the Doctor." Albus Dumbledore introduced. "He will be joining us for the time being."

The Doctor nodded in greeting.

Then he nudged Rose, who seemed to have been daydreaming, with his shoulder. "Say hello, Rose!"

"Hi!" Rose waved cautiously.

"Hello," Remus replied first. "I'm-"

"Remus Lupin," the Doctor finished. "Don't waste time with introductions. We both know who you all are."

"There's nothing ominous about that," Marlene muttered. The Doctor smirked.

"I assure you, the Doctor is an old friend." Dumbledore placated. "Now, we do not have much time. Let's get down to business."

The Doctor more or less tuned the meeting out after that. Even if it was history happening right in front of him, war meetings were never very interesting to him. Far too boring, especially when there was something much more interesting right next to him.

Rose.

Namely, what was _wrong _with Rose.

Not Rose herself, although she was a rather interesting person. But some people might see a 900 year old Time Lord taking an interest in his 19 year old companion (even if it was a completely innocent, platonic, not-in-any-ways-romantic sort of interest) as wrong.

Right.

Rose.

Problem.

Fix.

Now.

It was almost definitely Rose that sat next to him. The sonic had assured him that her DNA was the same. The most sure test would be an examination of her magical signature, but the sonic didn't have that ability. He had never had a need for it before, so he hadn't bothered.

_Now, though..._

He made a mental note to add that setting the moment he got back to the TARDIS. Actually, once he got back to the TARDIS the first thing he was going to do was make sure that Rose was _definitely _Rose.

She looked like Rose, but she didn't act like Rose.

Rose would have been itching to interfere with the plans. She wouldn't have been able to help herself. Rose loved her family more dearly than anything. The Doctor knew that she wouldn't have been able to just sit by passively and let them talk about strategies that would result in lost battles, despite the fact that she knew that they ultimately won the war.

Nor would Rose have been able to look at Peter Pettigrew in the face. Unless, of course, she was slapping him. The Doctor actually wouldn't mind seeing Rose slap Pettigrew, but she didn't seem to be inclined to do anything of the sort.

She just... _sat there._

Maybe some sort of life form had managed to get into her mind? Rose did say she had hit her head. Maybe she didn't. Maybe that bump was just a physical manifestation of some sort of alien creature trying to make a telepathic connection and control her thoughts.

_Why all the interest in the meeting, though?_

Because she was interested. Very interested. Her eyes darted from person to person as they each spoke. She seemed to be cataloguing everything that was said.

But why?

_That_, the Doctor decided, might be the key to it all.

That's when the Doctor noticed that everybody had begun to stand up.

"Over already?" he asked blankly.

Aberforth snorted. "Of course. Where have you been all this time?"

"Sorry," the Doctor said, his tone unapologetic. "Lot on my mind, me."

"Yes," Dumbledore sighed. "You need to get back to your ship. The Aurors should have cleared out by now, so it should be safe for you to go."

"Actually, Professor," Remus muttered, peaking out the window, "I don't think any of us are going to be going anywhere right now."

"What do you mean, Moony?" Sirius barked a laugh. Remus gestured to outside the window. The Doctor walked up behind him, as did everybody else. The Doctor heard a screech and looked up. The Doctor recognized the multi-limbed form of a Reaper.

And there wasn't just one.

Several dozen of them were materializing and dematerializing around the house and the surrounding neighborhood. They watched, horrorstruck, as one of the Reapers pounced onto a young man running past.

He screamed as he was devoured.

"What are they, Doctor?" Rose gasped.

"Reapers!" He cried, leaping to action, knowing that they didn't have much time. He worked through the small crowd and ran to the front of the house. The Doctor closed the front door, locking it firmly with his sonic screwdriver.

"Close all the windows! Make sure all the doors are shut!"

People leapt to action, not questioning him at the moment.

"Lock down the Floo! They can get in that way, as well!" He ordered. The Doctor grabbed one of the Prewett brothers (Gideon, he guessed). "This is the Prewett family home, yea?"

"How did you know that?" Gideon demanded.

"I read," the Doctor answered truthfully. After the war, it had been well documented that the first Order of the Phoenix Headquarters had belonged to the Prewetts.

"How old is this house?"

"A few centuries," Gideon guessed. "It's been in our family for generations."

"Fantastic!" The Doctor exclaimed. "The older something is, the stronger it is!"

"But what _are _those things!" demanded Alice Longbottom.

"They're called Reapers. Scavengers that feed off of wounds in time, like bacteria swarming an infection."

"Can we fight them?" James asked, fingering his wand.

The Doctor snorted. "Don't even think about it. They'd kill you in a second. This house is old, so it should hold them out, but even then it can't keep them out forever."

"We could apparate-" Marlene began.

"Why bother?" The Doctor denied. "The Reapers aren't just here. It looks like they're everywhere. All over the world. We're the only ones left. Well, us, and other strongholds like us. At least here, we're safe for the time being."

Moody fixed his good eye on the Doctor.

"You seem to know an awful lot about this."

"Let's just say I have experience," the Doctor muttered, moving a curtain away to look back out the window.

He turned to glance at Rose again, not having forgotten her. She looked pale and was sweating slightly.

"But Doctor," she asked again. "_What _are those things? They aren't magical."

"They're aliens, Rose," he corrected.

She gaped at him, as did many of the others. "Aliens don't exist."

The Doctor hadn't needed anymore proof, but this extra bit really didn't hurt. It just made him all the more sure. The Doctor pushed her into a seat at the table. Just because it wasn't technically Rose, didn't mean that he wanted her to faint on him. He needed that body safe.

The rest of the Order had begun to gather as well, curious to hear what he had to say about what was happening.

"Alien isn't the right term, I suppose. They're a natural phenomena. They just weren't as common because the timeline was closely monitored and paradoxes were prevented."

"You keep mentioning time," Remus pointed out.

The Doctor nodded. "Time. Somebody is messing with it. And it ain't me, I promise."

"But Doctor," Lily began, a hand on her pregnant stomach, "Can you save us?"

She clutched at her husband's hand. "I know we aren't special, but-"

"Who said that?" the Doctor demanded. Lily stammered, stunned, and the Doctor shook his head.

"You, Lily Potter, are more special than you will ever know." He nodded to her stomach. "How many months?"

"He's due in late July," James offered. The Doctor grinned.

"A boy, then?"

James nodded, face shining.

"I was a father once" the Doctor mused, letting himself drift. "Not a good one, mind you."

"Where are you children now?" asked Frank hesitantly. The Doctor fixed him with his cold gaze. Frank flinched.

"Dead." The Doctor turned back to James. "You be there for your son." It was an order. James didn't hesitate in nodding.

The Doctor looked back down at Lily's stomach. He couldn't help but think about the fight that this poor kid had against him, the things he would do, all before the wizarding world recognized him as an adult. He glanced towards Rose (or whoever she was) and thought about the role this baby would one day have in _her_ life.

"Funny things, kids. One minute, they're hiding behind your legs, holding your hand. Next thing you know, they're all grown up, fighting your battles for you."

Lily frowned, not sure what he meant.

"You are important," he assured. "All of you. And yes. I'll try and save you."

"Any ideas?" Caradoc asked him.

The Doctor didn't say anything for a moment. "Their manifestation should be stopped once the timeline is quickly restored."

"That doesn't sound too hard," Emmaline offered optimistically. "How do we do that?"

"I need to figure out how the timeline was damaged so badly," the Doctor sighed frustrated. He shifted his gaze to the window, deep in thought.

The Reapers were rather concentrated around the house. That meant that whatever had damaged the timeline was centered around them, which was good, he supposed. It made it easier to fix. Of course, it probably also meant that it was something that either he or Rose had done.

He frowned at his companion. She had gone to get tea with some of the other women and was now helping pass out cups. She placed one very deliberately next to her seat. She didn't add any sugar, which was unusual for her. Acting on a hunch, he grabbed it and brought it up to his nose, taking a sniff.

"Oi!" she snapped. The Doctor stood straight up, towering over her.

"This tea," he said calmly, "has been laced with polyjuice potion. Mind telling me why?"

Rose's (or _not _Rose's, as it turned out) eyes widened. She began to stammer, looking about her like a cornered animal.

"You aren't Rose, are you?" He asked. It was a rhetorical question. The Doctor knew. He must have been getting thick in his old age, if he didn't think of this.

She (or he, there was no way of knowing) ran for the door, but Moody, who had been following along with everybody else, was too quick. He shot thin, snake-like cords from his want at her. They wrapped around her arms and ankles, sending her tumbling to the floor.

The Doctor didn't allow himself to feel any sympathy. Whoever this person was had hurt Rose. They had tried to take her place.

Moody and Benji hauled her off of the floor and carried out of the dining room and into the living room, depositing her on one of the couches. The Doctor crossed his arms and stared at her.

"Who are you?"

She didn't say anything.

"Where is Rose?"

Again, nothing,

"Alright then," the Doctor shrugged, depositing himself down onto the couch. "We'll just wait and see. Polyjuice potion is wearing off, am I right? That's the only reason you'd be so desperate as to lace your tea with it, right in front of us. The last chance you must have had to drink it was in the bathroom, upstairs."

She turned away from him. He looked at the Order, now scattered throughout the room.

"It's only a matter of time, now."

"But Doctor," Fabian frowned, "what about the Reapers?"

"If I'm right, this may have something to do with this whole mess," he answered. "Too big of a coincidence to not. I don't like coincidences. They're too coincidental."

Remus snorted and the rest of the room descended into silence, they're eyes never straying from the figure on the couch. There was nothing they could do now but wait for the polyjuice potion to wear off.

Outside, the screams of the Reapers grew louder.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: A bit shorter than normal, but the next chapter should be a bit longer to make up for it. The next chapter is also the last chapter in "The Episode Formerly Known As 'Father's Day.'" Okay, the name needs a bit of work. Anyway... final chapter for this episode should be coming up soon. Stay tuned!<strong>


	10. Storytime

Elphias sighed, impatient, and moved to stand in front of "Rose." Kneeling to give himself better access, he began to rummage around in her pockets.

"What exactly are you doing?" asked the Doctor, from his position against the wall.

"No use waiting around, doing nothing," he explained. Rose was beginning to squirm away from him, making his job a bit harder. "Might as well see if we can figure out more about who this person is."

He reached into another pocket and, purely by chance, pulled out a small, plain, box. Elphias tried to pry it open, but, as evidenced from the keyhole, it was locked. He shook it and heard something rattling around inside.

"Looks like a shrunken chest," Marlene pointed out.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Then un-shrink it."

"Pushy," teased Sirius. He quieted under the Doctor's glare.

"Rose is missing. We're surrounded by Reapers. Do you honestly think that this a time to be joking?" The Doctor demanded.

Sirius raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Just trying to diffuse the tension."

The Doctor muttered something incomprehensible, although Sirius had a feeling that the older man wasn't singing his praises, and moved closer to the chest. He watched silently as Lily, a whiz with Charms if ever there was one, un-shrunk the chest and used an unlocking charm to get it open.

"Oh god," she whispered, horrified. The Doctor couldn't say anything. He had seen many terrible things in his time, but none had ever struck him speechless like this.

Inside the chest, which was obviously bigger on the inside, was Rose, in nothing but her underwear. Without thinking, he shrugged off his leather jacket and reached down into the chest, wrapping her firmly in his jacket. He picked her up and placed her gently on the couch. From the looks of it, she was uninjured. Gideon handed him a blanket, which he placed over her to keep her warm.

"I'll go see if we have some clothes for her," Alice offered immediately. She hastily walked up the stairs. The Doctor barely noticed. He brought his hand to Rose's face, brushing some hair from her eyes. She stirred a bit, but didn't wake.

"Rose?" he asked softly.

"Doctor," Alice said gently. The Doctor turned to face her. She held up an old t-shirt. "It's not much, but it's big enough to cover her up."

The Doctor took a step back, letting the women do what they needed to. Lily and Marlene levitated the blanket, creating a screen for privacy.

With Rose out of sight, there was nothing to distract from his anger. He turned to the psuedo-Rose, still sitting on the couch bound, acting as though nothing had happened.

"Are you happy now?" The Doctor demanded. Psuedo-Rose said nothing, but was sweating just a bit. The Doctor could not tell whether it was because of fear or if the polyjuice potion was just wearing off.

"Well, you shouldn't be." The Doctor said simply. "Would you like to know why?"

Silence.

"Because that girl is nineteen years old and under _my _care. And you hurt her. That means you have to deal with _me _now."

He had a sudden realization that Barty Crouch Jr. had pulled a similar stunt in Harry's fourth year (if the history books were to be believed of course). The similarities were too great to ignore. That combined with Reapers, prompted the Doctor to take a look at the girl on the couch.

She wore a chain around her neck. The Doctor had noticed it earlier, but had just assumed that it was Rose's TARDIS key. The Doctor had seen the _real _Rose though. She still had her TARDIS key.

Eyes narrowed, he plucked the chain off, ignoring the screech of protest that sounded.

"A Time-Turner," he confirmed. "It's been modified, though. Let me guess. You come from after the war, yeah?"

The Rose on the couch didn't answer. Not because she didn't want to, but because the Polyjuice potion had begun to wear off. The Doctor watched, unflinching, as she (or he) writhed on the couch, in obvious pain.

When it was over, the Doctor wasn't too surprised to see who was on the couch. "Rodolphus Lestrange."

"That's impossible," argued Sirius. "That's an old man. Rodulphus is about my age!"

The Doctor waved the Time Turner. "He's not your Rodulphus Lestrange. He comes from, oh, the early twenty-first century."

"I've spent years," Rodolphus spat, "biding my time, working, waiting, for the perfect moment."

"You fix up a Time-Turner, come back to before the war, then go find your master. Use your knowledge of the future to change the outcome of the Wizarding War. Finding Rose must've been a lucky break, am I right?"

"I saw her and it gave me an opportunity too good to pass up," confirmed Rodolphus.

"Sure," the Doctor confirmed. "It's been well documented that the first Order Headquarters was the old family house of the Prewetts, well guarded by wards. You see Rose. She's a Prewett. From the future, to be sure, but a direct descendent. And blood is blood. Never mind the fact that you've got no idea how you're going to infiltrate the Order. She can get through the wards with no problem. A little Polyjuice potion and you're in."

Rodolphus's eyes widened. "And my Master will be victorious!"

Sirius nodded. "That's the Rodolphus I know."

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"She's a Prewett?" Fabian asked. The Doctor hesitated for a split second, then remembered the fate of the people in this room. Most of them would not live to see Rose be born.

"Molly's son's daughter. Your great-niece."

"And you're from the future?" demanded Remus, curious as always.

The Doctor didn't answer. The women, who had been listening in with a sort of horrified fascination, had finished dressing Rose up, the blanket draped over her once again.

Marlene handed him his jacket. He shrugged it back on and moved to sit on the edge of the couch. Lily was kneeling next to Rose, running her wand over her, checking for injuries.

"She'll be fine," Lily assured after another moment. "She's been hit upside the head, but she's not unconsciousness, just sleeping. She'll need fluids and plenty of rest once she wakes up, but she'll be back to normal in a matter of days."

The Doctor nodded thankfully at the healer. "Between me and my ship, she'll be well taken care of."

"You can try waking her up," Lily offered.

The Doctor shook her shoulder gently. "Rose? Rose, wake up."

The Doctor almost laughed out loud when Rose rolled over onto her stomach, stuffing her face into her pillow, mumbling something about five more minutes.

"Rose, you need to get up now."

"You've got a time-machine, Doctor." Rose retorted, her words muffled by the pillow. "Give me another few minutes."

"Rose," the Doctor huffed, ignoring the snickers coming from behind him. Honestly, what kind of Time-Lord was he? Couldn't even get a nineteen year old witch out of bed!

Rose huffed and rolled back onto her back. She opened her eyes and immediately regretted the decision. She covered her eyes and let out a string of curses.

The Prewett brothers had doubted the Doctor, but now, after hearing _that, _it left no doubt that she was related to Molly.

"Merlin," she grumbled, removing her hand once the lights had been dimmed. "What did I have to drink last night? Did Albus and I go clubbing again?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"Rose, you haven't been drinking." The Doctor said gently, turning her to face him. "What can you remember?"

Rose blinked. "I, ah, I wanted to go home. Get some clothes. A sundae. Let Al know that I was okay."

"Good," the Doctor encouraged. "What else?"

"You got the time wrong!" Rose accused. "_Again!"_

The Doctor felt the tips of his ears turn red. "Let's not dwell on that."

"There was the attack on Diagon Alley," Rose muttered. "I went to hide. Somebody hit me over the head. And then...Russell! The little boy! He died!" Rose tried to sit up, tears coming to her eyes, but the Doctor pushed her back down.

"Breathe, Rose, breathe." The Doctor muttered, suddenly faced with a new problem. What had brought the Reapers? Lestrange, or the little boy dying?

"Where are we, Doctor?"

"Order Headquarters."

Rose's eyes widened. "What, seriously?"

The Doctor gestured to the room. Rose took a look around. Seeing all the faces that were long since dead in her time, she couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed.

"Hello," she offered. She got several smiles back and then turned back to the Doctor. Apparently understanding that the Doctor and Rose might like some time alone, they began to vacate the room. Rose let out a deep sigh. The room had been getting rather crowded.

She turned back to the Doctor and lowered her voice. "Why are we still here?"

She knew that the Doctor wouldn't have wanted them here at Headquarters any longer than necessary.

"Reapers," the Doctor explained. Rose's brow wrinkled in confusion. "They take advantage of weaknesses in time, such as when somebody interferes with the timeline."

A loud screech from outside made Rose turn her head towards the window. She got a brief glimpse of a Reaper before it flew away.

Rose didn't say anything for another moment. She shot the Doctor a grateful look when he offered her a cool glass of water. She didn't say anything for a few minutes, trying to understand.

Rose shook her head. "But I thought you said time was fluid and that it could be changed. That's what _you _do all the time. What's it matter if Lestrange tries to change things?"

"Well, for one thing, I actually know what I'm doing," the Doctor said. He paused, trying to think of the best way to explain the rather complicated theory of time to her. He had no doubt that she could understand, but only if he explained it in the right way.

"You're right. Time is fluid. But imagine that, among all of that, there are certain points."

"Points?" Rose repeated.

"Points," the Doctor confirmed. "_Fixed _points in history. Between these points, time changes and curves whichever way it wants, but these points, these events, they _need _to happen. Still with me?"

Rose nodded slowly. "So you're saying that the wars against Voldemort are fixed points?"

The Doctor nodded. "Exactly. That means it's much more vulnerable to paradoxes and the like. Especially when idiots who don't know what they're doing _blunder in-_"

"Alright," Rose laughed, cutting him off. She fixed him with an accusing glare.

"I wanted a _sundae. _That's it." Rose snapped. "Instead, I get tossed _sixty years _into the past and attacked by-" She paused.

"Rodolphus Lestrange," The Doctor supplied.

Rose stopped mid-rant. "Really? Bloody hell, Dad and Uncle Harry have been after him for _ages."_

Lestrange scoffed and tried to look intimidating. Considering that he was tied up on a couch, surrounded by a highly-experienced group of dark wizard catches, it failed.

"I'm not afraid of your precious _savior," _he spat, "and his _lap-dog._"

Rose narrowed her eyes and tried to sit up, ignoring the Doctor. "Yea? Well, you should be! 'Cause the moment we get you back home, Uncle Harry's gonna chuck you into Azkaban, you nutter!"

"Rose," the Doctor admonished. Rose huffed and sat back down on the couch.

"How do we fix this?" Rose asked after she had finished pouting.

"If Rodolphus Lestrange is the cause of this whole thing, everything should go back to normal once we take him back to the TARDIS and get him home."

Something about the Doctor's wording and his guarded expression put her on edge. He was keeping something from her.

She began to work through everything again. The War was fixed. That meant that _any _change, not just Lestrange, could mess everything up.

_Oh._

"What if Russell dying was the cause of this whole thing?"

The Doctor's face told it all. He took a deep breath. "Then we'll get the TARDIS and sort it out from there."

Rose tutted. "You realize there is one fatal flaw in your plan, right? The TARDIS is out there somewhere," Rose pointed out. The Doctor huffed.

"I was trying not to think about that, thanks." He tried to look stern, but failed.

"So how do we get to the TARDIS?"

"I don't know yet," the Doctor admitted.

Rose would never say it, but she was scared. It wasn't that she didn't trust the Doctor, she did. She just didn't trust herself. Surrounded by people she had grown up hearing about from family, could she honestly stop herself from changing things?

The Doctor must have seen something in her face, because he opened his arms for a hug. "C'mere."

Rose didn't hesitate. She relaxed into his embrace, comfortable. She was content to rest here for the time being. At least, she would be if it wasn't for that growing heat on her chest. She jerked away and reached her hand down the t-shirt.

"Ow, ow, ow!" She cried, yanking the necklace off and tossing it to the ground. The TARDIS key sat on the floor, glowing lightly.

"What was that?" she complained, rubbing the sore spot on her chest. The Doctor didn't answer. He shrugged off his jacket and bent down to pick up the key. He stared at it, then smiled.

"Fantastic!" He beamed. "Rose, we're getting out of here!"

"Is everything alright?" Benji fretted, rushing into the room with the others. "We heard screaming."

"It's the TARDIS key!" The Doctor informed them gleefully. "It's telling me it's still connected to the TARDIS. We can use this to bring her here! I just need something with a battery," he muttered. He turned to Rose. "Do you still have your mobile on you?"

"It was in my jacket pocket," Rose offered, walking over to Rodolphus. He snapped at her when she got close to him. She jumped back for a moment, startled at his behavior, then rolled her eyes.

"Oh quiet, you." She told him, reaching down into her jacket pocket. She pulled out her mobile and flipped it open. Full battery. She nodded cheerfully and handed it over to the Doctor. "Good thing I charged it up last night."

"Great," the Doctor said. He went to open up the back, but the phone chose that moment to beep loudly. Rose snatched it back from him and checked the caller ID.

"Rose!" the Doctor protested. Rose shushed him.

"It's Al," she informed him tartly, before she answered the call. "Al?"

"Rose!" the Doctor argued.

"Hang on, mate," Rose sighed. She covered the phone and glared at the Doctor. "We've been here for at least three hours and the Reapers haven't gotten through yet. A few minutes won't hurt anybody."

The Doctor sputtered.

"Sorry, Al," Rose said into the phone. "Just the Doctor being, well, the Doctor."

"Oi!" The Doctor protested. When it became clear that Rose wasn't going to listen, he plopped back down on the couch.

"Is this important, Al?" Rose asked. "'Cause we're kinda in the middle of somethin'."

"Hugo knows," Al said simply.

"You mean _knows _knows?" Rose demanded. "How? I've only been gone a few days!"

"Really?" Al asked, surprised. "It hasn't been nearly that long here."

"Well, then how did he figure it out?" Rose demanded. She could sense Al shrug.

"Search me. He probably asked around. Put things together. He's not an idiot."

"No, I don't suppose he is." Rose agreed reluctantly. She saw the Doctor motioning for her to hurry up. "Right, Al, I need you to listen to me. Just, find Hugo. Explain everything to him. Tell him I'll be home in a few days to clear everything up."

"Alright," Al said.

"And _whatever _you do," Rose cautioned, "do _not _let him go to Mum and Dad, y' hear?"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know!" Rose said exasperatedly. "Just do it!"

"But-"

"Albus Severus Potter," Rose warned (she regretted it when she heard Lily and James gasp. She really needed to watch what she said) "my parents _cannot _find out about this, are we clear? I don't care if you have to use a Permanent Sticking Charm to stick him to the bed! Just keep him busy 'till I get there!"

Rose ran a hand through her hair. "Now, I'm sorry, but I really have to go. I'll tell ya everything later, I promise."

"Fine," Al grumbled. "I love you."

Rose softened. "I love you, too, Al."

She hung up the phone and handed it to the Doctor.

"Finally!" he cried, prying it from her hands and moving several feet away from her. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Well, 'scuse me. Just 'cause _you _don't have to worry about my family, doesn't mean I _don't. _And Hugo figured out that I'm traveling with you, Merlin knows how, so you better take me home _for real _after this."

"Sure, sure," the Doctor muttered, too engrossed in his work. He finished it in just a moment. "There!"

He placed it gently on the coffee table. "It just needs to do a bit of charging up. Then, we can bring everybody back and get out of here."

He looked around for a moment. "Best move the sofa. Give the TARDIS some room."

Indeed, the moment that they moved one of the sofa's off to the side, the TARDIS began to slowly materialize.

"It's quick!" Rose said, surprised. The Doctor grinned.

"Like you said, your phone was all charged up."

She smirked. "And, yet again, _I _save the day."

"You think you're so impressive!"

"That's my line!" Rose laughed. She felt a gentle touch on her arm and looked over at Lily, who was watching her apprehensively."Yes?"

"I couldn't help but overhear you talking on the... phone, was it?"

"Yea. Can't blame you," Rose interjected, hoping to steer the conversation away from where she knew it was going, "it's bloody tiny in here."

"You were talking to Albus Severus Potter," she continued. Rose shot a worried look at the Doctor. He nodded to assure her that it was alright. Rose assumed it was because Lily would die long before she ever got to see her son become a father.

"Yea," Rose said, her voice coming out raspy. Lily placed a hand on her stomach.

"No, no, no," Rose denied, moving her hand away. She felt Lily's stomach for the briefest of moments, but it was enough. Her _Uncle Harry _was in there.

"Al," she rasped, "Al isn't your son."

"Oh," said James, sounding more than a bit disappointed.

"He's your grandson."

The silence that followed that statement was enormous.

"Grand-" James gaped. Sirius thumped him on the back to make sure he wasn't choking.

"Yea," Rose confirmed, "He's my cousin, too."

"I thought you were a Prewett!" interrupted Fabian, looking highly put out. Rose frowned, obviously confused.

"I am," she started. She stopped and narrowed her eyes at him, placing her hands on her hips. "Hang on, how do _you _know that?"

"That'd be my fault," the Doctor interrupted, raising his hand guiltily.

"So how can you be both-" Remus began, then stopped. He shook his head. "No, best not. I think we'd all rather find out for ourselves."

There was a murmur of agreement.

It took all of Rose's self control not to yell, scream, or stamp her feet. _No! _She wanted to tell them. _You'll never get to find out! Not alive, anyways. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry._ The Doctor tapped her on the shoulder and gave her an inquiring look. She gave him a small smile.

"If my grandson is your cousin," Lily began slowly- she giggled a bit at the word _grandson, _"then that would make my son-"

"My uncle," Rose finished.

She couldn't stop the words that poured out of her mouth after that confession. "I just have to say that you two do a _really _great job with him. I mean, you have no idea. He's one of the best men I've ever known." She paused. "And I'm not just saying that 'cause he didn't get angry with me or tell my mum when I was five and accidentally set our cat on fire."

Gideon smiled proudly.

"He, ah, turns out great." Rose finished sincerely. "Thanks to everything that you did-_will do_ for him."

"I appreciate that," Lily said softly. She closed Rose's hand in her own and clasped it gently. She heard laughter from behind her and turned around. Rodolphus Lestrange was lying down on the couch, laughing hysterically.

"How _touching_," he spat. "'_He turns out great,'" _he mimicked. "Not great for me, let me tell ya."

"I'd shut my mouth if I were you," growled Aberforth, Moody watching everything with rapt attention.

"This whole war," the man continued, "all of My master's work. Gone. Why? Because one _scrawny, little, kid _didn't know how to stay out of other people's business. Without him, without _precious Harry Potter, _my Master would have _triumphed. _Instead, that _brat _had to come in and ruin the entire goddamn thing. The big, bad, wolf came and blew the entire house down."

Rose frowned at the odd metaphor and Rodolphus tensed up. "He stopped to my Master underestimated him in my past, so now I'll make sure that _Potter _isn't around for my Master's future!"

Rose was the first to understand what he meant, save the Doctor. Rodolphus had apparently been busy at his bonds while everybody talked and, Rose also realized, while they had confiscated her wand and returned it to her, in the wake of everything going on, they had neglected to search of Rodolphus's wand.

"No!" Rose cried as Rodolphus lunged from the couch towards Lily, his wand poised and aimed at her stomach. "_Stupefy!"_

Rodolphus was sent backwards with a loud _crack. _His head hit the corner of the couch's armrest and he fell to the floor, dead, a pool of blood collecting near his head. Rose gasped and took several steps backward.

When she turned to the Doctor, he had his eyes closed. He opened them. "It's done. The timeline has been corrected. Nobody will remember a thing."

"Yea, I can see that," Rose said nervously, pointing out the various Order members, all of whom were blinking dazedly.

Edgar turned to glare at them. "Who are you two?"

The Order members raised their wands and Rose looked at the Doctor, panicked. He cleared his throat and took her hand.

The Doctor began to carefully tug her backwards. "Sorry to interrupt you all, just popping by. Got a bit lost. We can find our own way, though, thanks for the offer. Goodbye!"

He tugged her backwards and she fell into the TARDIS, stumbling slightly. He shut the doors and ran to the console, pulling levers rapidly. Rose could hear the banging of the doors at first, but then there was nothing but the gentle hum of the TARDIS.

"Nice and safe in the Vortex," the Doctor confirmed. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Next stop, April 4, 2025. I'll make sure to get it right, this time."

"You better. That was a helluva day," she informed him.

"It was," the Doctor confirmed. "You alright?"

"Fine," Rose lied.

"You did just kill a man," the Doctor said bluntly.

Rose nodded. "Not on purpose though." The Doctor waited. "And he wasn't a very nice man, was he?"

"Suppose not," the Doctor admitted.

"What's going to happen to the body?"

"Oh they'll try to figure out who it is" the Doctor said flippantly. "Won't be able to, though. Check the history books. They say that its one of the Order's greatest mysteries."

"And what about us?" Rose asked hesitantly.

"Nothing but a story, now" the Doctor beamed at her. "A _fantastic _story."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And that's that. A rewrite of Father's Day...not nearly as good as the original, sure, but it'll do, right? And in the next chapter: Captain Jack! Finally! Am I the only one who thinks that the Doctor, Jack, and Rose should have had much more time together than they actually got in the series? Just wondering.<strong>

**Also, I've changed the name of the story from 'The Skasis Paradigm' to 'Clarke's Third Law.' I really didn't want to, because I know it might be confusing for some people, but this story is starting to get a bit long (not ridiculously long, mind you, but long enough). There were originally going to be 3 parts to the story, all under one name. But with this part getting so long, I've decided to just divide it up. Sorry 'bout that. More information coming soon.**

**Thanks for all the love!**

**tinyrose65**


	11. Part 1: Understanding, An Interlude

When Rose had first met the Doctor, she found herself surprised at how comfortable she felt with him (once she realized that no, he was _not _trying to kill her). She felt safer with him than she had with anybody else.

Considering how many times they ended up with hostile aliens trying to kill them, that was saying something.

It had taken only a matter of hours for her and the Doctor to achieve the kind of dynamic that Rose had never felt before, not even with her brother or her cousin or anybody. _Definitely _not with Jimmy. She felt comfortable teasing him, comfortable with the knowledge that he wouldn't take it personally. She could flirt with him, knowing that he would give it right back. She would fight with him, but it didn't matter because he would never hurt her.

Ever.

Rose was happier than she had been in a while. She honestly thought that her life with the Doctor in the TARDIS could not get any better.

Then they met Jack.

All confident swagger and constant flirting, it seemed as though there was no way he could fit into their carefully crafted group. But, for some strange reason, he fit perfectly, adding an extra element that neither Rose or the Doctor had known was needed.

Rose had understandably been a bit hesitant about Jack at first. Fresh off from dropping off Adam, she didn't want another repeat. Thank Merlin she hadn't told Adam about magic, or things could have been infinitely worse.

Rose couldn't have hidden magic from Jack if she tried. Blowing a whole in the floor with her wand and then forcibly apparating the man to his ship had been a pretty decent giveaway that she was just a bit less than normal.

Thankfully, less than normal was par for the course for Jack.

He had taken it wonderfully, asking questions and trying to learn as much about it as he could, but _not _in a greedy, want-to-use-it-for-his-own-purposes sort of way. Rather, he reminded Rose of a new muggle-born at Hogwarts, innocent (although nothing about Jack could ever _truly _be called innocent, could it?) and excited to learn about a brand new world.

Rose had been stingy with the information she had offered at first, until one day about a month after he had joined them, Jack strutted into the console room carrying a book.

"Rosie!" Jack beamed. Rose looked up from where she was painting her nails.

"Jack!" she mocked.

"Did you leave this for me?" he asked her with a waggle of his eyebrows. Rose frowned and tilted her head to read the title of the book.

"A Muggle-Born's Guide to the Wizarding World," she read aloud. She shook her head. "No, wasn't me."

She twirled the chair to face the Doctor. He was working underneath the console.

"Doctor?"

No answer.

She kicked him lightly in the shin. "_Doctor!" _

"Ow," he whined. He shuffled out from underneath the grating, sonic screwdriver in his mouth. "What?"

Ignoring his tone, Rose asked. "Did you leave that book for Jack?"

The Doctor would never admit it, but he was beginning to like Jack as much as Rose did. At least, he had stopped threatening to throw him out the airlock every time Jack made what the Doctor deemed an inappropriate move on Rose. Or him. Or the TARDIS.

Considering Jack, that happened quite often.

Still, Rose didn't think the Doctor would leave the book for Jack. When Adam had boarded the ship, he had let it be Rose's decision about how much to tell him about magic. She had assumed it would be the same for Jack.

Sure enough, he shook his head in the negative.

"Then who did?" she frowned.

A mumble came from beneath the grating.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Probably the TARDIS." The Doctor answered, coming out again. "Guess she decided that she likes you, Jack."

Rose felt a gentle hum beneath her. She got the feeling that the book was not so much for Jack's benefit as it was her own. The TARDIS was letting her know that Jack was alright. That he was safe. That he could be trusted. Rose sent the TARDIS a mental thanks, hoping the ancient ship could hear her.

"A beautiful girl like this?" Jack grinned. He stroked one of the coral structures. "Of course she does!"

"No flirting with my ship!" the Doctor admonished.

"Sorry, Doc," Jack muttered, completely unapologetic. He sniffed. "Do you smell strawberries?"

Rose waved the nail-polish brush around, almost sending some red paint splatter to the console floor. "It's my nail polish. Scented."

"Fancy," Jack teased, plopping down onto the floor next to her. He flipped open to a particular page.

"I was reading it earlier this morning," he began, "when I came across this."

Rose frowned and took the book from him. This particular chapter was a basic overview of Wizarding history. The book had been printed several years earlier, so it was no surprise to see both wars against Voldemort written about. Rose saw what Jack was referring to. Her father was also mentioned.

She nodded and pointed at her mum's and dad's names. "Mum and dad," she explained. Then she pointed to Harry's name. "and Uncle Harry. They fought in the war."

"They ended the war," Jack said carefully, not sure if it was a sensitive subject for her.

"Suppose so, yea." Rose shrugged, going back to her nails.

Jack nodded and went back to his book. He might not have said anything, but she could tell that he was still a bit hurt about her lack of trust in him. She nudged him gently with her shoulder.

"Maybe if you're _really_ good, I'll you more later, yea?"

"And what if I'm really _bad?" _Jack asked her with a wolfish grin.

Well.

She had walked right into that one.

"Then we'll drop you off on the nearest uninhabited planet. See how you deal with it if the only thing that you can flirt with is a rock." The Doctor called, his voice slightly muffled.

"Could be fun," Jack pointed out. "Some rocks are sentient."

"Seriously?" Rose asked curiously. Jack nodded.

The Doctor finally emerged fully from underneath the controls. Dusting himself off, he said, "On a few planets, yes. We could go see them, if you'd like."

"Actually I was thinking we could do something for Jack."

"Well, if you're offering, sweetheart-"

"That's not what she meant, _sweetheart,_" the Doctor sneered. Rose rolled her eyes and took back Jack's book. She flipped forward a few chapters until she hit the sports section.

"Read about Quidditch, yet?"

"Oh yea!" Jack said, suddenly giddy as a schoolboy. "Wizard equivalent of football, right?"

"Right," Rose agreed. "If football had seven people flying around on brooms hundreds of feet in the air."

"Sounds fun," Jack said hopefully.

"You want to take him to a Quidditch game?" the Doctor said doubtfully.

Rose blushed. "Well, I was talking to Hugo the other day-"

The Doctor gave a groan of annoyance at the mention of her brother.

"Don't make fun of him! He saved our lives the last time we visited!" Rose said vehemently. After their disastrous encounter with the Order, Rose and the Doctor had finally made it home, about 12 hours after they had left.

Rose had had a long talk with Hugo. At first, he seemed hesitant about keeping a secret from their parents, but after his muggle computer skills had ended up saving the world from a group of Raxacoricofallapatorians, he had agreed.

He and the Doctor had a rather odd relationship, though. The Doctor belittled him and moaned about him. Hugo thought that the Doctor was a pompous git. Still, they liked each other, deep down.

_Deep, _deep, down.

"Anyways," Rose continued, "We were talking and he mentioned that he was real upset about the family not going to the World Cup this year, on account of work, and time, and the fact that it's being held in Africa."

"Quiddtich World Cup?" Jack pounced on the opportunity. "Sounds fun! Can we go, Doc? Can we? Can we?"

"Since when did I become a babysitter?" the Doctor grumbled to himself. Nevertheless, he walked over to the TARDIS controls and began to dial in the coordinates. Rose squealed and clapped and began to finish up her toenails.

"Quidditch World Cup, 2025," the Doctor announced a moment later. "Who's playing?"

"Germany versus Brazil, I think," Rose said, wracking her brain..

"And who are we rooting for?" Jack asked.

Rose thought about it for another minute. "I think my mum has a cousin who lives in Brazil or something."

Then, as an afterthought, "Plus their uniforms are prettier."

"Not to mention if they win," Jack said thoughtfully, "just _imagine _the parties!"

"Well, I guess it's settled then." the Doctor said drily. Opening the door. Rose stepped out of the TARDIS first and was instantly hit with a blast of warm air. They were on a plain littered with hundreds, if not thousands, of tents.

Rose watched gleefully as wizards and witches ran around, obviously eager for the match to begin. They were supposed to be trying to blend in with muggles on the campground, but most of the witches and wizards were failing spectacularly.

"And I thought that the TARDIS stood out," Jack commented, eyeing an odd looking tent that was shaped like a fishbowl. It was also see-through, which didn't seem to bother the wizard inside.

It didn't bother Rose, either, until he began to take off his pants to change.

"Protect the innocent eyes!" quipped Jack when the Doctor placed his hand over her eyes. She couldn't see anything, but when Jack let out a low wolf-whistle, Rose decided that perhaps that it was for the best.

"The match starts in about an hour," the Doctor said, dropping his hand to check his watch. Rose was relieved to see that the old wizard had put his pants back on. "Should give you some time to look around a bit."

Rose narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "Don't think you're getting out of this, mister. You're coming, too!"

She tugged him along, ignoring his groan. They walked in the general direction of the stadium, knowing that they would need to get there early to get good seats.

"You've got the psychic paper, right?" asked Rose. "'Cause we don't have proper tickets-"

"Of course I've got psychic paper," scoffed the Doctor. He was obviously insulted. Rose huffed and Jack just laughed.

As they approached the stadium, Jack stopped suddenly.

"Jack?" Rose asked. He didn't answer. Instead, he made a sharp turn to the right and began walking the other way. Rose and the Doctor exchanged glances and went to follow him. He had a rather dazed look in his eyes and didn't seem to hear them.

When he was a fair distance away from the stadium, he blinked, clarity returning to his expression.

"Jack, are you alright?" Rose asked hesitantly. Jack looked at her as though she was insane.

"Of course I am!" He looked around. "What are we doing standing here for? I thought we were on the way to the stadium?"

"We were," Rose said hesitantly, "until you decided to come this way for some reason."

Jack looked doubtful. "Now, why would I do that?"

"You tell us," the Doctor prompted. Jack looked absolutely lost for words. Rose bit her lip and peered closer at his face. The befuddled expression he wore was eerily similar to that worn by somebody who'd been Confounded.

"The Muggle Repelling Charms!" Rose realized. "They're set up all over the stadium to keep muggles away! No wonder!"

Jack looked devastated. "Does that mean that we can't go see the game?"

"O' course we can," assured the Doctor. "I can fix you up in a tic. Just hold on tight. This might feel a bit strange"

Jack leered. "'Hold tight to what?"

Rose rolled her eyes as the Doctor placed his fingers on Jack's temples and closed his eyes. Jack's face now wore a face-splitting grin.

"Don't know much about Time-Lords, Doc, but is this how you guys mate?" Not giving the Doctor a chance to answer and ruin his fun, Jack said, "Isn't it a bit public, though? Never took you for an exhibitionist. I like it! It's kinky! What happens- whoa."

Jack's jaw dropped and Rose guessed that whatever the Doctor had done had allowed Jack to see the stadium. The Doctor removed his hands.

"All set," the Doctor chuckled, watching Jack's face amusedly. He took Rose's hand again and began to lead her to the stadium. "Oh, and Jack?"

"Huh?" Jack asked, still in shock.

"If a Time-Lord ever decides to mate with you, you'll know."

Jack said gleefully, "Does that mean there's hope for me?"

"Ah, no." The Doctor shook his head.

Rose giggled at Jack's highly put out expression.

"Oh come on, you two!" She let go of the Doctor's hand to loop her arm around both of their shoulders. It was a bit of a stretch for her, but she managed. Together, the three of them made their way through the crowds and into the large stadium.

As they went, Jack shot out question after question and, for once, Rose was the one doing all of the answering. Not the Doctor. It felt good to teach Jack about something which he knew nothing about, especially considering that, most of the time, she was the one who was being taught things.

Jack got distracted for a moment with the pretty young witch handing out fliers.

"What is it with witches and pretty boys?" the Doctor said, shaking his head in disappointment. Rose nudged him.

"You better be careful, Doctor. You keep talking like that and next thing you know, you'll be a pretty boy in your next life."

"What?" the Doctor asked urgently. Rose jumped backwards, surprised.

"I just meant, you know, like karma and stuff. It's just a saying." Rose's eyes widened. "I didn't offend you or nothing, right? 'Cause if I did, I didn't know, honest, I swear I-"

"Rose you didn't offend me," the Doctor shifted his weight from foot to foot. Rose could tell he was hiding something. "Just didn't know you believed in reincarnation, that's all."

"I never know what to believe in these days, Doctor. Ever since I started traveling with you, everything's gone all topsy-turvy."

Jack finally finished his _conversation _and joined his friends. Together, they continued to the stadium. While they Doctor used his psychic paper to get into the stadium, Rose stepped off to the side and bough them each a pair of Omnioculars. She handed a pair to the Doctor, who took them with a thanks, and to Jack, who instantly began fiddling with the buttons with a boyish enthusiasm.

Rose carefully guided him to their (absolutely wonderful) seats, taking great care to make sure he didn't bump into anything (or anyone, although Rose doubted that he would have minded that). Jack hadn't sat down just yet, though. He stood up to get a better view of the Quidditch pitch. He took in everything: from the grass, to the hoops, to the bright advertisements that floated in the air above them.

_Madame Pippi's Beauty Emporium: You Don't Need A Glamour Charm to Look Gorgeous!_

_The Bad Wolf: International Standard Racing Broom, the Official Broom of the 2025 Quidditch World Cup_

_Weasley's Wizard Wheezes: The Only Place to Get Patented Daydream Charms! (Not for sale for wizards under 16)_

"Patented Daydream Charms, huh?" Jack grinned. Rose groaned.

"Is sex the only thing you think about?" She demanded.

Jack blinked. "As opposed to what?"

Rose laughed this time. "You're unbelievable!"

"That's what they tell me!" Jack chirped.

"Settle down, you two!" The Doctor admonished. He made a gesture towards the field. "Game's about to begin!"

The cheering and clapping in the stadium reached deafening levels, not that anybody seemed to mind. Jack joined in with the best of them and, after a few standard announcements, the teams were introduced and the game began.

Although Rose enjoyed Quidditch as much as the next person, she couldn't help but keep glancing to Jack. He was just _excited. _She couldn't help it. Occasionally, he would lean down to ask her a question about the game or the Omnioculars, but he not once commented on the fact that she couldn't tear her eyes away from him.

Rose thanked her lucky stars for that, knowing full well what Jack would make of it.

"Do you get it?" The Doctor leaned down to whisper to her. She jumped and looked over at him, confused. He gestured to Jack. "Do you understand why I never stay still? Why I love having you with me?"

Rose looked at Jack and realized that how she felt right now must be similar to how the Doctor felt whenever he brought her somewhere new. She had never understood why he traveled with her, no doubt there were hundreds of people more qualified for it, but she understood now. It wasn't intelligence or experience that made him bring her. It was because of her _lack_ of experience (among other things, she hoped). The thrill of teaching somebody something they had never known or showing them something they had never dreamed of.

"Yea," she breathed, beaming up at him. "I get it."

The Doctor smiled at her and for a moment it was just the two of them, Rose and the Doctor, as it should be.

The moment was broken by loud laughter from the audience. Rose frowned and brought her Omnioculars up to her eyes, hoping to get a better view. Apparently, the referee, who had been hit earlier in the head with a bludger, had been hurt just a bit worse than the officials had anticipated. He was currently twirling around the field, his jacket tied around his waist like some sort of skirt.

Rose's jaw dropped. "Does he think he's a ballerina?"

"Looks like!" The Doctor laughed. The officials tried to wrestle him off the field, but he didn't want to go.

"He's stronger than he looks," noted Jack.

Rose winced, "And he's got one helluva right-hook!"

The game settled down after that, with Brazil ultimately smashing the rest of the competition, their Seeker catching the Snitch with almost no trouble.

"That was great!" Jack exclaimed as they exited the stadium and began to make their way towards the TARDIS. Rose couldn't help but agree.

"It's been a while since I've been to a good Quidditch Game." She squeezed the Doctor's hand. "Thank you for bringing us here, Doctor."

"Just don't expect me to make a habit of it," the Doctor said amusedly. "You two go enjoy the parties. I'll be in the TARDIS."

"You sure you don't want to come?" Rose pouted.

The Doctor glanced into the distance, where the beginnings of a rather wild party were forming. "I'm sure."

Rose and Jack shrugged. Jack said, "Alright, Doc. We'll see you in a couple of hours, then."

The Doctor nodded and Rose, feeling particularly devious, sidled up to him. "Thanks again, Doctor."

She leaned up and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. He stuttered and the tips of his ears turned pink. She laughed at him and bounced away, calling for Jack over her shoulder.

Jack smirked. "Yea, thanks, _Doctor."_

Before the Doctor could warn him, Jack also planted a kiss on the Doctor's cheek, before turning around and running after Rose.

The Doctor, flustered, yelled the first thing he could think of. "Stay out of trouble!"

Oh, who was he kidding?

If all the trouble in the universe was hiding under a rock, Rose would somehow find a way to trip over it.

"'Stay out of trouble,'" grumbled Rose. She made a disgruntled noise and looked up at Jack. "Honestly! Who does he think we are?"

"I think he knows _exactly _who we are!" he laughed. Rose scowled. Jack was supposed to be on her side! Jack threw his arm around her shoulder, hugging her close. "Ah, let it go. We're here to party! To dance and laugh and be merry!"

Jack then added, "And to drink. Drinking will definitely be involved."

"Not too much, yea," cautioned Rose with a small smile. "Last thing we need is you waking up somewhere with no clue of how you got there."

She saw Jack wince out of the corner of her eye and she gasped. "Oh, Jack! I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry, I didn't even think-"

"I know you didn't, doll. Don't worry about it." He assured her.

"You shouldn't worry too much about it either," Rose said gently after a minute. Jack looked as though he didn't understand what she was saying. "I mean, I get that they're your memories and it's wrong that somebody took them and you think you deserve to get them back-and you do! But I know that you're worried about what you did during those two years 'cause for all you know you're some sort of mass murderer, but I just don't think you should worry about that 'cause I know you, Jack, and you're _not _a bad person and I refuse to believe that whatever you did that you don't remember was bad."

Rose said everything in one breath. Once she paused to get some air, Jack squeezed her shoulder, feeling warmed by her words, even if he couldn't believe them himself.

"Thanks," he said. Rose smiled at him, panting slightly.

"You're welcome. Now, whad'ya say we join the party?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth!"

The two eventually found themselves in a large tent filled to the brim with celebrating men and women. There were flashing lights and smoke and the smell of sweat and Rose felt as though she had just entered a club.

"I love when stuff is bigger on the inside!" Jack yelled over the music. Rose shook her head in amusement and turned to the crowd.

"I'm going to get a drink," Rose announced. "Would you like something?"

"I'll be fine," Jack said, eyeing a group of guys over on one side of the room.

After finding and downing a shot of Firewhiskey, Rose, pleasant warmth buzzing through her veins, made conversation with some witches her own age. Every now and then she would look up to check on Jack, who seemed to be having a very good time making some new friends of his own.

Rose laughed at something Melinda (a sweet, albeit sarcastic, red-head from the area) said. Rose opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by somebody behind her.

"Rose?" she felt a tap at her shoulder. _It couldn't be..._

Rose turned around so fast that she stumbled, almost sending her falling backwards into one of the girls, who was kind enough to help her regain her balance. When she had found found her footing, Rose also found herself staring into a face she thought she would never see again.

"_Jimmy?"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, so guess what? I'm not dead! Sorry about how long it took to update, but hopefully it was worth it? Who doesn't love Jack, after all? <strong>

**This particular chapter solved two problems I've been having:**

**a) How to write a chapter with Jack, without using either The Empty Child, the Doctor Dances, or Boomtown, all of which, while great episodes, would have made for a very boring rewrite.**

**b) There is a huge shift between the relationship of Jack, Rose, and the Doctor from The Doctor Dances to Boomtown, so I always sort of figured that they must have been traveling together for a decent amount of time (a week? a month?) before stopping off in Cardiff. I could be wrong-in fact, I probably am. But it's called fanFICTION for a reason, so this might be my very own, made up, pocket of time, where I address the shift in their relationships.**

**That being said, sorry if it gets too OOC, but I won't deny that I had a blast with chapter...I had a bit too much fun thinking of things for Jack to say.**

** *snickers.***

**Please enjoy, sorry for the wait, and please review. The next chapter will hopefully be up soon!**

**tinyrose65**


	12. Part 2: Understanding, An Interlude

_"_Hello," he greeted simply, not looking nearly as nervous as she felt. That was rather unfair, she decided.

_"_What-" Her voice came out a tad high, so she cleared her throat. "What are you doing here?"

"I was here for the game," he said slowly, as though it should have been obvious, which, in hindsight, it was.

"Right," Rose stammered. The girls had abandoned her at this point, obviously sensing the tension between them. Rose, eager to get away, mumbled, "I've got to go-"

"Rose wait!" he grabbed her wrist to stop her. Rose flinched and Jimmy dropped her arm as though she had burnt him. "I'd just like to apologize for what happened between us. I never got a chance before and-"

"Yea, alright Jimmy," Rose said. She honestly didn't want to hear this.

"I never meant any of the stuff I said-"

"Then why'd you say them?" Rose asked hotly. The look on Jimmy's face was one of pure shock and confusion. "Forget it, Jimmy. I know you. Don't try and tell me you didn't mean all the stuff you said. You did. You're just trying to save face by having me say I forgive you. Well, I don't."

Jimmy scowled. "Do you think you're the only one who got hurt because of this whole mess? No employer will even _think _to hire me now, not after all that blacklisting you're little family did!"

Rose snorted. "So that's what this is about, is it? You might be sorry for pushing me that day, but not because you care about me. You're just angry that you got in trouble for it."

Jimmy continued as though he hadn't even heard her speak. "But that's what you always did, wasn't it Rose? Not once did you come and talk to me after that whole mess. _Not once._ You just hid behind your family and let them do all the dirty work, acting like the perfect little damsel-in-distress that you are."

Rose didn't say anything. Instead, she just threw her drink in his face and ran out the tent, not looking back. She didn't even pay attention long enough to hear Jack calling her name.

He excused himself quickly and ran after her, sparing a glance at the man she had been talking to earlier. One minute, she's happy and laughing with her friends, and the next thing Jack knew she was running out the tent on the verge of tears.

Rose, Jack had learn very quickly on, was a very fast runner. You had to be if you spent a considerable amount of time with the Doctor. Jack had always admired Rose for it, but, at the moment, it really was making things a bit more difficult.

"Rose!" He called again, losing sight of her in the crowd. Cursing, he decided that his best bet would be to go back to the TARDIS. Rose would have to return there eventually.

When he opened the door to the TARDIS, Jack was met with a sight that nobody should ever see: A Very Angry Time Lord.

And yes, it deserved capitals.

The Doctor held jack by the lapel, keeping him to his spot. "Mind telling me why Rose just ran in here, upset? Do I need to make good on my threat to castrate you? Because I would be more than happy to."

"I don't know," Jack said quickly, eager to keep his life (and his genitalia, for that matter). "One minute I look over and she's talking to some guy, next thing I know she's throwing her drink in his face and running out like a bat out of hell, heading straight to the TARDIS ."

The Doctor searched Jack's expression for another minute for any sign of deception. Jack did his best to meet his gaze evenly. Once the Doctor was satisfied, he let go of Jack and sighed.

"Best go see what's wrong, then."

The two of them made their way to Rose's bedroom. The Doctor knocked hesitantly. It didn't seem that Rose heard.

"Just go in there!" Jack hissed impatiently.

"No, thank you," the Doctor retorted. "If Rose really is upset, no need to annoy her further."

"What's the harm?" Jack asked after a moment.

"Have you ever been on the other side of one of Rose's hexes?" Jack's blank look assured the Doctor that no, he hadn't. "Consider yourself lucky, then, lad."

The Doctor knocked a bit harder and pressed his ear to the door. He could hear Rose inside, sniffling softly. "Rose? Rose it's me and Jack. Can we come in?"

Jack, who was crouching slightly and also had his head to the door, turned up to look at the Doctor. "I didn't hear a no."

The Doctor nodded and eased the door open, sticking his head inside. The lights had been dimmed and Rose had burrowed herself deep underneath the covers.

"Go away!" Rose demanded, chucking a pillow at them.

"Now Rose," the Doctor said, easily avoiding the projectile, "you never listen to what I say, so why should I listen to you?"

"'Cause I'll hex ya if you don't, that's why."

"Hex Jack," the Doctor ordered. "He's never been hexed before. It'll be good practice for him later on."

"What makes you think I'm getting hexed later on?" protested Jack.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Because you'll shag anything that moves and witches-or wizards- don't take too kindly to that. You can't tell me you've never been slapped before, either, can you?"

"Good point." Jack said after a moment.

Rose giggled.

"Aha!" Jack said triumphantly. "A giggle!"

He sauntered over to the corner of the room and lugged Rose's chair to the side of the bed. He plopped himself down onto it and then poked the lump under the covers.

"Jack!" Rose squealed. "That's my bum!"

"I know," he smirked.

Rose glared at him from under the covers, but, then realizing that he couldn't see it from the position she was in, rolled over and stuck her face out, giving him her most annoyed glare. Rather than recoil as she had hoped, his face seemed to crumple.

"Oh, Rosie."

It took Rose a moment to remember that she had been crying heavily and that her makeup had probably run. She blushed and tried to duck back under the covers, horrified that she was being seen in such a state, but Jack wouldn't let her. He tried to reach behind him to the desk, but couldn't quite make it. The Doctor, seeing what he was going for, grabbed the box of tissues. Instead of handing them to Jack, he perched on the edge of the bed and began to wipe Rose's face himself, ignoring her half-hearted attempts to bat him away.

"Want to tell us what happened?" The Doctor asked her once she had finished. Rose crossed her arms and pouted petulantly.

"Not really, no," she grumbled."

The Doctor and Jack exchanged glances. "We won't force you to, Rose. Not if you don't want to."

Rose scowled deeper. How could she not tell them after they went and did something like _that. _She scooted over the center of the bed and tugged the Doctor down next to her. He toed off his boots and, after slight hesitation, laid down next to her.

"You won't be comfortable sitting there," Rose explained, "and it's a bit of a long story."

Jack didn't say anything, but made his envy quite obvious. Rose sighed in mock exasperation. "Get up here, Captain. Needy, little thing, aren't you?" She asked him as he crawled over both her and the Doctor to the other side of the bed so that she would be sandwiched between them.

"Needy? Maybe." He told her, making himself perfectly comfortable. "Little? Not so much."

Rose rolled her eyes and waited for him to settle down. Once had made himself comfortable, he looked positively giddy. "I knew I'd get you two into bed sometime!"

It looked like the Doctor was resisting the urge to shove him off. Instead, he took a deep breath then glanced down curiously at Rose.

"Well?"

Rose fiddled with her fingers for a moment, not sure where to start.

"You know that when Al and I were little, we wanted to be healers together, didn't you?"

The Doctor nodded, but Jack looked surprised. "Really?"

"Mhm," she confirmed. "Ever since we were kids, even before we got to Hogwarts."

"Then why didn't you do it?" Jack asked.

"The NEWTs," Rose sighed regretfully.

"Hogwarts exams?" Jack guessed, trying to recall the information from everything else he had learned recently. Rose nodded.

"To become a Healer, you need _at least _an 'Exceeds Expectations' in Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Transfiguration, and Defense."

"That's a lot of NEWTs," Jack said. The Doctor looked unconvinced.

"You could make those marks, with a bit of effort. You're smart."

"For an ape?" Rose checked.

The Doctor smiled. "Oh, that's a given."

Rose looked back down, determined not to meet his gaze anymore. "See, that's the thing, Doctor. I think you're wrong. I'm not that smart."

"Rose-"

"'Cause if I was, I wouldn't have made such a _stupid _mistake."

"What mistake, Rosie?" Jack asked her softly. Rose looked up to the ceiling.

"There was this _boy,_" she sighed, feeling her cheeks heat up. She waited for ridicule that never came. When she gathered up the courage to look at both Jack and the Doctor, neither one of them looked disappointed in her. Both looked completely nonjudgemental and gently curious.

Jack nudged her foot with his. "Go on."

"His name was Jimmy," she said, "Jimmy Stone. Hufflepuff, my year, captain of the Quidditch team. _Gorgeous."_

"He was the bloke in the tent," the Doctor said. Rose nodded and Jack looked thoughtful.

"He was _alright_, I guess. I wouldn't call him _gorgeous. _Especially not with _me _in the same room-"

"Oi! Who's tellin' this story?" Rose asked, trying to look angry. Once it became obvious that she failed (mainly by her own giggling), she went on with the story. "We started going out, if you haven't figured out as much by now. Things started out really nice. He was sweet. Brought me flowers, opened doors for me, everything." Rose winced visibly. "Then we got into our first fight."

"What about?" Jack interrupted.

"I was getting to that," she said weakly. "I hadn't gone to his Quidditch game. I had stayed in and spent the day at library, studying. We had exams coming up and I wanted to be ready. It was NEWTs year, after all. So I had to be prepared. Jimmy didn't like that."

"He didn't hurt you did he?" the Doctor demanded.

"No!" Rose interjected, before he and Jack could get worked up. "Just words, and stuff. Nothing physical. Not that time."

"That time?" Jack asked, making to stand up, as though if she confirmed his suspicions, he planned on hunting Jimmy Stones down _right. now. _The Doctor kept clenching and unclenching his fists. Rose reached out and squeezed one of the Doctor's hands and rested her head on Jack's shoulder.

"Just let me finish, yea?" When neither made any objections, Rose continued. "Like I was sayin', Jimmy never touched me. He just said things. Told me that I was never going to be a healer, that I wasn't smart enough, good enough, driven enough. He said that I couldn't do anything, not without help from my family."

Rose turned her eyes to the Doctor and Jack, pleading with them to understand. "I love my family more than anything, honest, I do. But everywhere I go, I'm always _Ron's and Hermione's daughter, a Weasley, Harry Potter's niece. _I can never know whether I've done something for myself, or if my last name did it for me."

"We understand, Rose," the Doctor told her, gripping her hand. She looked down at their entwined fingers.

"Jimmy knew it. He preyed on it, tore me down, again and again and again. He kept goin' until he finally made me believe it. He made me think that all I was really good for was supporting him. He told me that if I was there for him, he'd take care of me. I'd never be dependent on my family again. He'd help me show them and everybody else that I was more than just _that Weasley kid._ And I did believe him. I did as much as I could to 'support' him. I went to his games, spent all my time with him, helped him with his work first, then did mine."

Rose sniffed loudly. "I gave him _everything. _Guess it wasn't enough for 'im, though."

"Whad'ya mean, Rose?" the Doctor dared to ask.

"I walked in on him and another girl," Rose grimaced.

"Oh, Rose," the Doctor sighed.

"I got really angry," Rose recalled, "yelled at him for a while, then told him it was over. I went to walk out when he-" Rose stopped for a minute, knowing that neither of them was going to like this next part very much. "-grabbed me by the arm to stop me."

Jack bristled and the Doctor glared at nothing in particular.

"I tried to make him let go," she said, rushing through it, "but he wouldn't listen. He was angry, too. He didn't want to break up with me. I tried to get him to loosen his grip, but he let go or I slipped or he pushed or _something _and I fell and hit my head against one of the counters. Next thing I know I'm waking up in the hospital wing a few hours later. Jimmy was expelled and I tried to get back on track, but I had wasted the whole year. Even with hours of studying, all I managed to scrape were A's across the board."

Then, she added, as an afterthought, "And one O in charms, but that's always been my best subject."

Rose finished and let out a deep breath. It felt good, she realized, to talk about it. Al had told her so again and again, but she had never listened, not really knowing anybody outside of her family that she could trust. Now, though, that had obviously changed and she felt much better.

"Rose-" the Doctor rasped after a moment.

"Don't," Rose begged, snuggling deep under the covers. After getting it all out, she was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. "Just forget it, please."

"We can't forget it-" Jack went to argue.

"He's been punished enough," Rose defended, much to her own surprise.

"Who said anything about punishing?" Jack asked, all too innocently. When it was clear that Rose was not going to let up, he sighed. "What was his sentence?"

"Sentence?" Rose blanked. When she realized what he meant, she shook her head. "There wasn't one. I didn't press charges."

"What?" asked the Doctor, surprised. The Rose _he _knew would never let something as serious as domestic violence just slide.

"I just wanted it over," she mumbled, cuddling into the Doctor's side, taking a deep breath. He placed an arm around her. "And like I said, he was punished enough. The thing made headlines. He couldn't go anywhere without being recognized and hexed and insulted."

Jack said something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Still not enough." Rose decided to ignore it.

"I'd really started to forget about the whole thing, honestly."

"Until you saw him earlier," sighed the Doctor. He never should have brought her here. Why didn't he take her to meet sentient rocks? This whole mess could have been avoided. Then again, would she have told him any of this otherwise? He liked to think that she trusted him, but they all had secrets. He more than most.

"Until I met you, actually," she huffed, not in the mood to talk.

"Me?" panicked the Doctor. He shot a worried glance to Jack, who just shrugged, as confused as he was. He nudged Rose's shoulder to keep her awake. "_I _would _never _hurt you, Rose-"

"I know that, you nutter. I just meant, since I met you, I finally got it."

"Got what?" Jack asked.

"I don't need my family to do things. Now, _I_ get to help the Doctor save the world, _all on my own_. Even saved his life, first day we met."

"Yes, you did, Rose," he affirmed. "You did."

"It also got me to thinkin' that maybe the whole thing with Jimmy Stone was a good thing."

"A good thing?" The Doctor repeated dubiously. He placed his hand on her forehead. No. No fever. Then why was she suddenly delirious?

"Mm," she agreed. "Not a _good_ thing," she said after a moment, "but a good thing."

"And you call me confusin'." The Doctor turned accusingly to Jack. "Did you put something in her tea this morning."

"I just meant," Rose interrupted, tugging one of the Doctor's arms more firmly around her like a blanket, "that if that whole thing hadn't happened with Jimmy, I wouldn't o' ever o' met you two."

Jack and the Doctor were stunned into speechlessness as Rose let out a small snore, finally asleep.

"Meet me in the library," the Doctor said after a moment. He began the process of disentangling Rose from himself. Jack left him to it, deciding that what he really needed after all that was a hot shower and a cold drink.

He got the second one when he met the Doctor in the library. He handed him a shot glass. Jack looked at it curiously, then gulped it down. He was no lightweight when it came to alcohol, but he choked at the burning sensation in his throat.

"What _is _that?" he demanded.

"Firewhiskey." The Doctor downed his easily. "The _quality _stuff. Not the cheap drink you had earlier."

"Right," Jack said, once he was able to breath again. He sat back in his chair. "Did you know all that?"

"No," the Doctor said after a moment. "I mean, some of it, I was able to guess before. What she said about her family, anyways. It couldn't 'ave been easy to grow up in a family as famous as that."

"Still," Jack muttered, rubbing his face.

"Nothing we can do about it now," the Doctor sighed.

"Nothing?" begged Jack.

The Doctor shook his head. "Rose wouldn't want us to kill 'im."

"I wasn't thinking of killing him," Jack said once he got over his shock. "I was thinking more along the lines of wounding him. Or seriously maiming."

"Rose still wouldn't want us to," the Doctor denied.

"When did it become so important?" Jack demanded. The Doctor frowned.

"Pardon?"

"The opinion of a nineteen year-old girl. When it did start to matter so much what she thought? I'm a con-man, for god's sake! An ex-time agent! And you're no innocent lamb, either!" The Doctor snorted. "We've both done things that would make anybody else run screaming for the hills, but we've not even bat an eyelid. So why the hell does it matter whether or not Rose is disappointed in us?"

"Because she trusts us," the Doctor says simply. " That's what she does. She trusts you to do the right thing because she thinks that you're good. But you're not. But she trusts you, so you have to be, because somebody as fantastic as Rose deserves nothing less. She says 'You're better than that,' so you are. "

"Are we better than that?" Jack said after a moment. "Better than _him?"_

The Doctor took another shot. "Rose thinks we are."

"Is that enough?" Jack asked.

"It's got to be," the Doctor said simply, pouring his friend another drink.

The two men sat contemplatively in the library, nursing their drinks, as their third companion dreamt on.

The TARDIS floated gently in the Time Vortex, content in knowing that her occupants-her _family_ - finally understood each other a bit better.

For one moment, one brief shining moment, all was well.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, that's done! Who doesn't love a semi-happy ending, hm? After this, comes a brief oneshot-type-thing set after TCI. After that, comes a complete rewrite of The Age of Steel and Rise of the Cybermen...not necessarily in that order since I can't quite remember which comes first. You know what I'm talking about, though, and that is what's important.<strong>

**I'll update soon.**

**tinyrose65**

**p.s. Thanks to trialanderror12 for your review! It really made my day! As for you other people, you should take your cues from her and leave nice, long reviews for me. *tries to glare intimidatingly. fails.* Ah, right. Instead, how about I just go for the classic, "Please review? Pretty please?" *puppy dog eyes***


	13. Starting Over, But Not Quite

Rose woke up with a pounding headache. Her body ached all over and she was absolutely starving. She rolled over onto her back and opened her eyes. Blinking away her sleep, she found herself staring at the ceiling.

Her ceiling in the flat.

The events of the past few days flooded back.

The Gamestation.

The Daleks.

Jack.

The Doctor sending her home.

Her finding a way back.

_"I heard a song."_

_"That's right. I sang a song and the Daleks ran away."_

The Doctor. The old Doctor, the new Doctor, the same Doctor.

The Sycorax, Harriet Jones, satsumas.

All in forty-eight hours.

No wonder she was exhausted. She briefly considered going back to sleep for another few hours, but the grumble of her stomach and the tantalizing smell drifting in from the kitchen forced her up.

Barely pausing to look in the mirror and brush her hair down and clear away some make-up, she traipsed into the kitchen, letting her nose lead her. She found Al standing over the stove in the same clothing he had worn earlier, cooking dinner.

A glance at the clock told her that it was about 8 o'clock, well past dinner time. She had slept away the rest of the afternoon.

She cleared her throat, startling her cousin.

"You're up!" He said cheerfully.

Rose smiled. "What are you making?"

"I am making us a proper Christmas dinner," Al said.

Rose frowned. "Christmas isn't for another week, though, ain't it?

"You and the Doctor will probably be long gone by the time the holidays roll around," Al shrugged. "I thought we might as well have our own version a bit early."

Rose nodded, but didn't say anything, her thoughts drifting, once again, to the Doctor. Al noticed her shift in mood and abandoned the food for a moment.

"Are you alright, Rose?" Albus asked.

Rose didn't say anything for a moment. "I don't know."

"Want to tell me what's wrong?" Al asked after a moment, leading her into a chair.

"He _died, _Al!"

"But he didn't die, right?" Al asked nervously, not needing clarification for who 'he' was. "Not really. He's still here."

"But the _old_ Doctor died!" Rose clarified, for a lack of a better thing to call the previous Doctor. "The man who took me away and first showed me the stars! He's gone! And he'll never come back!"

Rose sobered. "And neither will Jack."

Al sobered at this, too. Both he and Hugo had met the Captain briefly during their small stint in Cardiff. Once they got over their surprise at his constant flirting non-stop innuendos, they found themselves growing to like him.

_And, _Al mused, rubbing his hand over his cousin's back soothingly, _he obviously cared deeply for Rose. Neither he nor Hugo could genuinely dislike somebody who did that._

"I'm sorry, Rose," Al offered uselessly. "I know how close you all were."

"I didn't even have a chance to mourn him, Al," Rose looked at him guiltily. "I woke up on the TARDIS floor and the Doctor was regenerating and then the invasion and I just...forgot about him. He was my friend and I pushed him aside."

"Jack wouldn't blame you for that," Al denied. "You were in shock. You were tired. He had just died, then the whole thing with the Doctor, then the invasion. Survival instinct kicked in and you did what you had to do."

"But it's over now," Rose whispered.

"It is," affirmed Albus.

"And it hurts." Rose confessed.

"I know," Al soothed. He wrapped her in a firm hug and the two of them sat like that for a while, neither of them keeping track of exactly how long. It wasn't until the smell of burning food permeated the air that they untangled themselves, Al almost tripping in his haste to save his dinner.

"Yes, mum," Hugo huffed, walking into the room, "I am sure Rose is fine."

Rose giggled when Hugo rolled his eyes and gestured to the phone with the universal gesture for "talking too much."

He listened for another moment. "Because it was released on the news that all of the, ah, hostages had blood type A-Positive. Rose's blood is AB-Positive."

"Yes, I am positive," he defended. He frowned sympathetically. "I miss her, too, mum, but I'm sure we'll be getting a letter from her any day now." He gave Rose a pointed look. "Just in time for Christmas!"

He listened to their mother speak for just another moment. "Christmas dinner at the Potter's. Understood. We won't be late. I love you, bye."

Hugo hung up quickly and let out a deep breath. "Blimey, mum can talk."

Rose laughed, but sobered when Hugo gave her a serious look.

"You need to send her a letter soon. The whole family is very worried."

"Where do they think I am?" Rose asked curiously. Al had mentioned earlier that he had assumed Rose would be missing their Christmas dinner, something Rose hadn't really understood. She had actually been planning on having the Doctor bring her home of the holidays. She was even going to try to get he himself to stay over.

"Well," Hugo looked sheepish. "You have to understand, mum and dad sort of ambushed me, and I didn't have much time to think of a decent excuse-"

"Hugo!" Rose interrupted.

"They think you're in Somalia."

"Somalia?" Rose asked.

Hugo nodded. "Deworming orphans."

"I am?" she squeaked.

"Apparently," Al offered from his position near the stove, "a non-profit organization offered you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to Somalia for at least six-months, if not longer. You jumped at the chance and left right away, even though the location is remote, meaning that you won't have much time nor any way of receiving letters."

"You _can _send them once in a while though," Hugo pointed out again.

"Well, where am I going to get an owl?" Rose demanded. "It's not like I can keep one in the TARDIS!"

"Just leave a letter anytime you and the Doctor pop by. We'll pass it on."

Rose shifted, playing with the tattered tablecloth on the kitchen table. "You shouldn't have told mum and dad that."

"We had to tell them something," Hugo pointed out. "If we didn't, they'd think you were kidnapped and start a global manhunt or something."

"I mean, I understand," Rose said, "but-"

"But what?" Hugo asked, leaning forward to hear her better.

"I don't know if I'm going to keep traveling with the Doctor."

Hugo raised his eyebrows and Al was so startled that he dropped his knife, cursing as it fell dangerously close to his foot.

"What do you mean, Rose?" Al demanded. "You love to travel with the Doctor!"

"Of course I do, but you heard him!" Rose argued. "Same man, but new everything else! What if he doesn't want me to travel with him anymore?"

Hugo scoffed and Rose whacked him hard on the arm. "I doubt that, Rose," he said, once he'd finished rubbing the sore spot on his arm. "He look and act like a new man, but I think he's the same, deep down. Some things never change, you know."

"And how do you know that me traveling with him is one of those things, hm?"

Hugo shrugged. "You two were pretty close, last time I checked."

Rose winced. "Not close enough for him to warn me about this apparently."

There was a tense silence in the kitchen as Rose's brother and cousin both acknowledged her point.

"Where, is the Doctor, anyways?" Rose asked. trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Hugo shrugged.

"The TARDIS, I think. He mentioned something about a new wardrobe and scuttled off. He said he'd be back in time for dinner."

"Speaking of dinner," Al interrupted, looking sheepish. "I think we might just have to order take-away. Everything else is too burnt."

"Already done," Hugo said smugly. "I saw this coming from a mile off. The food should be here soon."

"Ye of little faith," snapped Al, as he chucked his food into the garbage.

"I'm not doubting your cooking skills," Hugo denied, "but you can get a bit distracted."

"I do not!" Al threw back, drawing himself up.

"While you two ladies argue," Rose said getting up, "I'll make the table."

She had just gotten out the forks, knives, and tablecloth when the Doctor walked into. Instead of his usual outfit, he wore a brown, pinstriped suit, with a blue tie and white trainers. Rose had expected to find the clothes odd on him, but as much as the leather jacket and jumper had suited her first Doctor, the suit and trainers suited this Doctor.

He noticed her close examination.

"How do I look?" The Doctor twirled for her in a manner that he _never _would have done before.

Once she had recovered from her shock, she told him truthfully, "You look more brown than before. But I like it. The trainers are a nice touch."

"I thought that they would be," the Doctor confirmed, "considering all the running we do. I wasn't sure about the suit, though. It was either this one with the white trainers or the blue one with red trainers."

Rose wrinkled her nose at the description of the second suit. The Doctor nodded sagely.

"That's what I thought, too. I considered waking you up; see what you thought because I figured that since you thought I looked sort of brown now, you might like the brown suit. But you said that the brown was different, but not good different, so I was worried that you might like the blue suit better, because I was sort of blue before, and I figured you might miss that. But _then_ I had a feeling you wouldn't like the red and the blue, so I was better off with the brown-"

"Merlin, you babble," Rose said despairingly.

The Doctor blinked. "Oh, yes. Unfortunate, that. Sorry. What was I saying?"

"You considered waking me up," Rose prompted. The Doctor's eyes lit up in realization and he nodded.

"Yes, I did, but then I thought you might be tired." He grew solemn. "It's been a long few days."

"It has been," Rose agreed. "First Jack, then you."

"I'm still here, Rose," the Doctor said urgently, walking towards her, but then stopping short, as though he were worried that she would bolt if he came too close. "It's still me, like I said."

"I know," Rose sighed. She clenched her wand tightly in her hand. "Is he there somewhere? The old you, I mean."

The Doctor was quick to agree. "He is. Somewhere. Along with all of my other selves."

"How many times have you done this-" she gestured to his new body- "changing thing?"

"Regeneration, you mean?"

"Sure," Rose conceded.

"Ooh," the Doctor frowned, "that would have been my ninth regeneration, making this my tenth body."

"You've done this nine times?" Rose demanded. When the Doctor nodded, her scowl deepened. "And what? You didn't think to warn me about it?"

"What was I supposed to do?" He scowled back. "At some point between "Run" and "It travels in time" I was supposed to mention that one day I might spontaneously change bodies?"

"Yes!" Rose agreed hotly. Then she stopped to consider what he had said. "I mean, no. But we've been traveling together for a year, now. I just don't know why you didn't tell me before. I don't understand."

The Doctor looked frustrated and ran a hand through his hair. Unlike his predecessor, this Doctor had a fair amount of it. Rose found it rather jarring, but the Doctor seemed pretty pleased with it.

"I didn't think it would be an issue," the Doctor said finally. "It doesn't usually come up since I go so often between regenerations. I thought that by the time I'd regenerated again, you'd- you'd-"

"What?" Rose prodded hotly, "Be dead?"

"No," the Doctor winced at her callousness. "I thought that-"

"Thought what, Doctor?" Rose demanded.

"I thought you would have left by then!" The Doctor said over her. Rose flinched as though he had just slapped her.

"Is that what you think?" Rose whispered after a moment. "After everything that happened, all the things we did, all the times I said that I _loved _traveling with you; did you honestly think that I would just _leave _you? Leave you and Jack and the TARDIS and space and that _life?"_

"Of course not," the Doctor assured. "But you're young, Rose. So young. Eventually you're going to meet somebody, want to settle down. And you've got you're family here. You're so close to them. You aren't going to want to be away from them forever."

Rose sputtered. "Well, then, why do I even bother staying, then? If I'm just going to leave-"

"I didn't mean it like that!" The Doctor huffed.

"Then how did you mean it?" Rose demanded. "Because if I didn't know any better, Doctor, I'd say that you _wanted _me to leave!"

Now it was the Doctor's turn to be shocked. "What would give you _that _idea?"

"Well, you didn't tell me about regeneration," she scowled. "Obviously you didn't think that I'd be sticking around long enough-"

"Rose, I can go _decades, _centuries even, without regenerating. I thought that I'd have time!"

"Obviously not much," Rose grumbled, "if you thought that I'd be leaving."

The Doctor looked so hopelessly lost that, if it had been under any other circumstances, Rose would have found him utterly adorable.

"I'm sorry, but _what?" _ he asked despairingly. "How did this whole mess even get started?"

Rose shrugged, not sure herself. "I don't know."

"We must be hungry," the Doctor decided knowingly. "It's making us both grumpy. Very grumpy, actually."

Grumpy? Rose thought. The old Doctor never would have used that word, although she certainly might have used it on several past occasions to describe him.

"Well, good thing for us, Al's decided that since you and I might not be here for Christmas, we should have a proper holiday tonight. He's been slaving over a hot stove for the past few hours."

Rose knew that the Doctor hadn't missed the 'might' she had used, but ignored it for the time being. Obviously he wanted to wait to tell her that she couldn't come with him anymore. Most likely after he had eaten a decent meal, considering how he looked considerably brighter at the mention of food.

"Oh, brilliant! What're we having?"

"Take-away," Rose deadpanned. "Al burned the food."

"Oh," the Doctor pouted.

Rose rolled here eyes. "You can hardly complain. You'd live everyday on chips, bananas, and tea if I let you."

"Why _don't _you let me?"

"Because it ain't healthy!" Rose pointed out.

"Superior biology," the Doctor informed her smugly.

"Well, then, I suppose you wouldn't have any trouble helping me set the table, Mr. Superior Biology," Rose ordered him tartly.

The Doctor smiled. "Nope," he told her, popping his 'p.'

Rose waved the cutlery at him.

"Oh!" He realized. "You meant now!"

"Yea, I did!" she laughed.

"But, Rose," the Doctor whined, taking the knives from her, "you can just do this with magic, can't you?"

"Well, sure," Rose said, putting the forks down to place her hands on her hips. She leveled her best glare at him. "Al's been working really hard at the stove all day. The least we can do is use a little bit of elbow grease to get the table set up."

"But we aren't even eating his food!" the Doctor protested half-heartedly, knowing that he would be losing this argument.

"It's the principle of the thing," Rose said simply.

And that was the end of that.

As they set the table, the Doctor babbled on and on about all of the interesting restaurants he had eaten in, some of which he had taken her to, others which he hadn't. Rose tuned him out half-way through, realizing early on that he wasn't really expecting an answer.

The old Doctor had thought she was going to leave. Rose still couldn't get her head around that.

It hurt.

If he had still been around, she would have hexed him.

Hard.

Honestly! If she hadn't left after their first trip together, wasn't it then obvious that she would be sticking around for a while? And what about their rather awkward run in with the Order? She had stayed after that. And the Dalek. If there was anything that would make her leave, it would have been the Dalek in the museum, but she stayed.

The old Doctor and the new Doctor were the same man. Did that mean that this Doctor thought she was going to leave, too?

Obviously.

You'll want to settle down, he had told her. She couldn't say that she would never settle down, because he was right, she was young and had absolutely no idea what the would want in a few years time. She knew though that whatever life she ended up choosing, she would want the Doctor in it.

Hopefully she had made that a bit more clear after their little argument a few minutes ago.

She surreptitiously shot the new Doctor a glance. He was still talking at a mile a minute, obviously not aware that she was no longer paying attention. The question now, she mused, as she adjusted the centerpiece, was whether or not this new Doctor wanted her in his life.

When the take-away finally showed up, Rose was about ready to faint from hunger. She groaned in appreciation as she finally began to eat the hot, greasy, Chinese food.

"I'm half starved," she mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"Really?" teased Hugo, "We hadn't noticed!"

Rose ignored him and continued to stuff her face. As the food disappeared, the four of them remained at the table, laughing and joking and opening presents. Rose had opened a cracker and placed the pink crown inside on her head.

She laughed at the Doctor, who wore a similar matching one.

The ring of a telephone disturbed them.

Albus picked it up. "Hello? Yea. Really? Alright."

"That was Greg from next door. He said to go look outside."

"Why would he do that?" the Doctor asked. Al shrugged.

"Don't know. Let's go find out!"

Sliding on her warmest jacket, she and her rather unorthodox family made their way outside. Everybody else was outside, too. It was snowing! Everybody was pointing and laughing in delight. It Rose another moment to realize that the sky was littered with shooting stars.

She moved a bit closer to the Doctor, Al and Hugo trailing behind them.

"That's beautiful," she told him. "What are they, meteors?"

"It's the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere. And this isn't snow. It's ash."

"Okay," Rose muttered, "not so beautiful."

"This is a brand new planet Earth. No denying the existence of aliens now - everyone saw it. Everything's new."

"And what about you? What are you gonna do next?" Rose asked. She avoided his eye. This was it.

"Well... back to the TARDIS... same old life." The Doctor said.

"On- of your own?" Rose prodded tentatively.

"Why, don't you wanna come?"

"Well, yeah." Rose said, surprised at how easily the answer came to her. Despite the fact that he hadn't told her about regeneration, despite their argument, despite the fact that he was a completely different man then the one she had come to know, she wouldn't have traded this life for anything else in the world.

"Do you, though?" The Doctor asked. In that moment, he looked more vulnerable than Rose had ever seen him.

"Yeah!" Rose exclaimed.

"I just thought... 'cos I changed...'cos I didn't say anything..."

"Yeah, I... I thought, 'cos you changed... you might not want me anymore." Rose told him hesitantly.

"Oh, I'd love you to come!" The Doctor said happily, brown eyes large and truthful.

"Okay!"

They laugh, giddy with delight, beaming at each other.

"You're never gonna stay, are you?" Hugo sighed, making it known, once again, that he still wasn't sure about the life that Rose had chosen. Rose walked over to him and embraced her brother tightly.

"There's just so much out there. So much to see... I've got to." Rose whispers in his ear.

Hugo smiled, understanding but still not happy.

"Yeah." he said, wrapping his arms firmly around her.

"Well, I reckon you're mad. The pair of you. It's like you go looking for trouble," Al informed them tartly.

"Trouble's just the bits in-between," the Doctor denied. He placed his arm around him and gestured broadly at the sky. "It's all waiting out there, Al. It's brand new to me."

Rose grinned.

"All those planets... creatures and horizons... I haven't seem them yet! Not with these eyes..." The Doctor let go of Al and moved to stand beside Rose again.

"And it's gonna be... fantastic."

Rose smiled at the use of the word. Maybe the old Doctor was still in there somewhere. He held his hand out to her.

"That hand of yours still gives me the creeps." Rose said. Normally, she wouldn't hesitate to take the Doctor's hand, but this one was different. Where the first Doctor's hand had been hard and calloused, this new Doctor had long, lean fingers and a smoother palm. Would it feel as right in her hand as the old Doctor's did?

The Doctor smiled and wiggled his fingers eagerly, daring her to try out his new appendage. She took his hand and smiled.

Like the rest of him, it was different. Not good, not bad. Just different.

She stood next to him and for a minute, they both stare silently at the sky. Rose, looking for an excuse to get closer to him, brushed the snow off of his arm.

"So, where're we gonna go first?"

"Um... that way." The Doctor pointed randomly at a point to the sky, distracted. He never took his eyes off of her.

"There?" Rose nodded.

The Doctor finally looked to where he was pointing. Looking decidedly alarmed, he quickly said, "Ah, no."

He pointed slightly to the right. "Hold on, yes. That way."

"What's over there?" Rose asked.

"Snow," the Doctor told her, squeezing her hand tightly. "Real, proper, fluffy, white, snow. How's that sound?"

"Good," Rose said softly. "That way sounds good."

They smiled at each other for a few seconds and then gazed up at the night-sky, hand in hand.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, okay, okay. Another one-shot, interlude thing. I'm sorry. More interesting stuff coming up next, though!<strong>

**AN (2): I feel kinda bad since there was a bit of a wait for this chapter, but not much plot or anything like that, so I decided to give a sneak peak (albeit, a short sneak peak, since the next chapter will also be rather short) for the next chapter, something that I don't usually do. **

** Enjoy!**

**tinyrose65**

_**Sneak peek:**_

_"Rose, you trust me, don't you?" The Doctor demanded._

_"Of course I do," Rose answered immediately. She grew worried. "Everything alright, Doctor?"_

_He ignored her question. "Rose, I promise, no matter where you are, no matter how long it takes, I will not stop until I find you."_

_"Find me?" Rose frowned. "Doctor, I'm right here. Are you-"_

_Then he kissed her._


	14. Breaking Hearts

"A parallel universe?" laughed Hugo, incredulous. "Only you could get us into _this _mess, boss!"

"Don't call me boss," the Doctor muttered, as he stared despondently at the zeppelin filled sky. He took a deep breath, letting the air puff up his cheeks, before letting it all out. He clapped his hands together to warm them up a bit.

"Well, then, back to the TARDIS," he called. He grabbed Rose's hand and tugged her along. Together he, Rose, and Hugo headed back to the ship. Rose felt her heart literally break as she walked into it. The usually warm and glowing console room was dark and silent, the TARDIS unable to run on the energy of this universe.

"Is there any way you can fix her?" Rose asked the Doctor softly. Hugo had also gone silent, the stillness of the TARDIS finally alerting him to the severity of their predicament.

"No," the Doctor said, "she's dead. She's dead and we're stuck and I'm alone again."

Rose didn't say anything, despite wanting to. She sighed. Even though he may not have realized it, on her side, Rose's relationship with the Doctor had grown more complicated as the months wore on. She missed the days where it was just the two of them (or three, for those few glorious months where Jack traveled with them, also) racing through the stars.

It was three once more in the TARDIS, since had had invited Hugo and, although she enjoyed her brother's company, she couldn't help but feel that, in this case, three was a crowd. She didn't really understand why the Doctor had invited him.

Actually, she did. At least, she thought she did.

It was The Incident.

Not the incident with Reinette. That was another matter entirely. _This _incident had occurred several days earlier, at the Deffry Vale High School.

Her brother having called her and the Doctor back to the Earth to investigate a muggle school he was doing computer work for, he and Rose had been forced to take jobs at the school- he as a teacher and her as a lunch-lady. A few days into it, Rose, taking a brief brake from her job, had come across the Doctor in the computer lab.

He had looked so involved with his work, that Rose was hesitant about startling him, but desperately wanted to know if he had found out any important information. The Doctor had jumped, then gaped at her incredulously for a few moments.

When she tried pestering him again, he didn't say anything. Instead, he had grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and looked at her desperately.

"Rose, you trust me, don't you?" The Doctor demanded.

"Of course I do," Rose answered immediately. She grew worried. "Everything alright, Doctor?"

Then she noticed something else, surprised she hadn't noticed it earlier, she blinked several times to make sure she wasn't imagining things. "Doctor, are you wearing a _blue _suit?"

He ignored her question. "Rose, I promise, no matter where you are, no matter how long it takes, I will not stop until I find you."

"Find me?" Rose frowned. "Doctor, I'm right here. Are you-"

Then he had kissed her.

It wasn't a quick kiss- she might have been able to excuse _that_ sort of behavior as the Doctor's natural impulsiveness and urge to taste everything.

No, this had been a right, proper snog, although snog seemed to common a word to describe it. Rose had frozen for a moment, as to be expected, before reacting. She had imagined the Doctor kissing her before, of course, but she had never imagined it like this.

She had imagined it happening after one of their life-or-death adventures, when one of them had almost died.

She had imagined it happening by accident, maybe during one of their frequent and impromptu pillow fights in the TARDIS.

She had even imagined it happening as the Doctor worked under the console, her finally losing all control at the sight of him in his glasses.

Rose had never imagined it taking place in the middle of a muggle school, in a lunch-lady's uniform. Nor had she ever imagined the Doctor feeling so _desperate_, clinging to her as though she was the last glass of water left in the Sahara.

While that image left much to be required, the Doctor kissing her, did not. In fact, the Doctor kissing her might have been one of the more wonderful things she had ever experience.

He gripped her tighter and angled his face a bit more.

_Oh. Oh my._

No, Rose decided. It was _definitely_ the _most _wonderful thing she had ever experienced.

Before she could even fully comprehend the event, it had ended. Rose stood gaping at him, panting for breath. The Doctor looked more rumpled than usual. He looked at her with wide-eyes through his glasses.

"Well, then." He cleared his throat. "Alright. I should be going." He picked something up off of the table in the room, unplugging it from the computer and placing it in his pocket.

He dashed out of the room, taking advantage of Rose's addled brain.

She had enough to sense to peek out of the hallway and call, "Doctor! It's lunch time! The cafeteria is the other way!"

"Oh don't worry about me!" he called over his shoulder. "I'm just taking a short-cut."

Sure enough, when Rose had entered the lunchroom, there he was, looking as though nothing had happened. He had even managed to change his suit. To be fair, she had seen the Doctor do far more impossible things, but it was still all very strange.

She never even had a chance to even ask him about it, first because they were in public, surrounded by kids and teachers, then because of Sarah Jane.

After that, the Doctor had invited Hugo along (what better deterrent to romance than one's own brother, she wondered) and gone off to save Madame de Pompadour.

Alright, she decided. She could take a hint. If the Doctor wanted to act like the entire thing never happened, then so could she. She dropped the matter entirely and never said a word. Their relationship slowly made its way back to the close level of friendship they had held previously, albeit a bit disrupted by Hugo.

She sighed and wrapped her jacket more firmly around herself. The TARDIS was growing chillier. Her attention was drawn to the grating, or rather, below the grating. Something was glowing.

"What's that?"

Rose pointed at the object in question, not really caring that it was rude. The Doctor frowned and put on his glasses and hopped down to the grating below.

_That's just not fair. _Rose tried not to stare, but failed miserably. _Why does he have to always wear those glasses?_

Thankfully both the Doctor and Hugo were preoccupied with the glowing piece of metal Rose had seen.

_"_Rose Weasley," he said happily, "you are brilliant. Have I ever told you that? _Absolutely _brilliant!"

"Not that I mind," she asked with a raised eyebrow, "but why am I brilliant?"

"This is a piece of the TARDIS," the Doctor said, hopping back up, "and it's still alive! Barely, just clinging to life, but alive!"

"Enough to get us home?" Hugo asked hopefully.

"Not on it's own," the Doctor denied. "But if I do this-"

The Doctor blew gently on the piece of coral. For a moment it lit up brilliant gold, before settling back down to its original copper hue. The Doctor blinked, looking slightly dizzy, before shaking it off and placing the coral gently on the Captain's Chair.

"What did you just do?" demanded Rose.

The Doctor looked a little hurt at her accusatory tone. "I just gave it some of my own life energy."

"How much?" Rose hedged. She knew him better than he had thought.

"Oh, ten years or so," He admitted.

Seeing Rose's stricken face, he hastened to add, "Honestly, Rose, it's not that bad! When you're over 900, ten years isn't very much! And it'll be worth every bit of it to get the TARDIS up and running again!"

"Can we go outside now?" Hugo whined, sounding very much like a bored child. Rose tutted jokingly.

The Doctor looked apprehensive. "I don't know if that would be such a good idea-"

"Since when do you ever back down on a chance to explore something new and exciting?" Hugo prodded. "I didn't even know it was possible to travel between parallel worlds."

"It isn't. I mean, it was, back when my people were still alive. You could pop into a parallel world and be back home in time for tea. When Gallifrey died, though, it died too. The walls between worlds were sealed off."

Gallifrey, Rose tested out mentally. It was the first time the Doctor had ever mentioned the name of his home planet. Rose filed it away for later use.

"That's what has me worried about this whole mess," the Doctor said. "Technically, this shouldn't even be possible."

"So, you defied the laws of the universe by accident?" Rose asked cheekily. "Sounds just like you!"

"C'mon, boss," Hugo wheedled, obviously eager to explore. "We have a few hours until the TARDIS is working again, so we'll be stuck here one way or another. What's it matter if we wait inside or outside?"

The Doctor was clearly being won over by Hugo's argument. Rose had a feeling that he was no less eager to get outside than they were, but was holding out for moral reasons and whatnot.

Rose decided to urge him a bit further, but because she knew him better than Hugo, she argued differently.

"If travel between parallel universes is so impossible, we might never be able to come back again. Don't tell me you want to leave without really knowing what's out there-"

The Doctor was out the TARIS doors faster than she could finish her sentence.

She looked at Hugo triumphantly. "I didn't think so."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Alright, it's short, but hopefully you enjoy it. I'm going to be honest, I haven't been feeling well these past few days, so I am not sure when the next chapter will be up. Hopefully soon!<strong>

**tinyrose65**


	15. Weasley's World Wide Corp

Rose, Hugo, and the Doctor ambled quietly through the streets, doing their best not to draw attention to themselves. It was rather difficult, however, considering that they (at least, she and Hugo), were gaping like tourists.

"This is so weird," she muttered, watching incredulously as a man apparated in the middle of London, not a care in the world.

Magic, it seemed, was the order of the day here. It was as though Diagon Alley had exploded in central London. Everywhere Rose looked, she saw signs of wizardry: owls, robes, brooms, and flying cars.

"Look at that!" Hugo declared, watching as one car floated easily through the sky. "It looks like that Flying Ford Anglia that Dad used to tell us about, remember?"

"The one he and Uncle Harry flew into a tree," Rose confirmed, "and the one that Grandpa designed himself."

"I think that is far more interesting," the Doctor said, brooding. Rose frowned and looked at where he was gesturing. At first, it took Rose a moment to see what he was pointing out. When she did, she almost retched.

In an image reminiscent of pictures Rose had seen of the United States, pre-civil rights movement. They had studied it in Muggle Studies. Two fountains, side by side, one lovely and clean, the other, not so much.

The nice one was labeled "Wizard."

The word "Muggle" was scrawled onto the filthy one.

"It looks like pureblood supremacy finally won out in this universe," grimaced Hugo.

"More like wizarding superiority," the Doctor corrected critically. Seeing their perplexed expressions, the Doctor added, "It looks like the prejudice extends only to those of non-magical blood. Anybody with magic, regardless of blood status, is likely to be accepted into society with few problems."

"But what about muggleborns!" Rose defended. "Or half-bloods-!"

"I don't know, Rose," the Doctor huffed "I'm just speculating. I could be dead wrong- well, probably not _dead _wrong. Maybe just a bit wrong. A tad? Maybe an iota. Or an inkling! Yes, I quite like that. '_Inkling.' _Rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does, Doctor," Rose said patronizingly.

The Doctor looked at her suspiciously. "Why do I have the feeling that you, Rose Weasley, are patronizing me?"

"Maybe because I'm making it blatantly obvious, Doctor?" Rose retorted without missing a beat. Hugo laughed and the Doctor "harrumphed."

He crossed his arms and pouted. Rose bumped him with her hip and grabbed one of his arms, taking his hand. She smiled up at him and, in no time at all, he was grinning right back.

"I wonder what else is different?" Hugo said after a moment, looking away with a small smile on his face, as though he knew something that neither she or the Doctor did.

"He's still alive for one thing," Rose said softly, looking at a poster.

Hugo frowned. "Who?"

Rose walked over the poster and tore it down. The Doctor and her brother came up behind her. Together, they gazed down at the words written on the poster.

WWW: WEASLEY'S WORLD WIDE

TRUST US ON THIS!

In the middle of the poster stood Fred and George Weasley, shoulder to shoulder, grinning and winking. Hugo giggled a bit at the cheesiness, but Rose frowned.

"Fred is alive?" Rose asked. "Does that mean the War never happened? Or it happened but he didn't die?"

"Who knows," Hugo mused. "But they certainly seem to be doing well for themselves."

"Uncle George said that he and Uncle Fred never planned on doing anything more than a joke shop. Making people laugh is all they ever wanted to do."

"They aren't your uncles, Rose," the Doctor said firmly. "They are just two people who happen to look like your uncles. For all we know, they might have their own kids, with their own Rose and their own Hugo- where is Hugo, anyways?"

Rose frowned, realizing that her brother had wandered off, as she often did.

"Rose! Doctor!" called Hugo. The Doctor and Rose turned to see Hugo being pulled into a dark van.

"Stop!" called the Doctor, taking off in their direction, Rose hot on his heels. "Wait!"

Anybody who has ever tried to chase a fast moving car knows that it's quite almost impossible, but Rose and the Doctor gave it their hardest try. Their habit of running from monsters, aliens, and, on one occasion, a very angry hedgehog had given them stamina and impressive speed, but even they were no match for car that could fly.

The Doctor cursed as the car, Hugo obviously still inside, flew into the air, well out of their grasp.

"Oh, better luck next time," the Doctor lamented. "We'll find him, though. Besides, Hugo is a big boy, he can take care of himself for a day. As soon as the TARDIS is powered up, we track him down and get out of here, right, Rose? Rose?"

Rose, the Doctor learned quickly, had stopped in the middle of the street and was tightly clutching her head. He was by her side in a flash, helping her to a bench nearby. Looking around him, he noticed that everybody in the street had frozen in place. An alarm was sounding through the air and each person was wearing ear-buds, which were flashing gently with the WWW logo on the side. Rose's phone was beeping loudly in her back pocket.

He frowned.

The Doctor tried to get Rose to tell him what was wrong, but she couldn't answer. Instead, she curled in on herself. Images were flashing through her head at a breakneck pace.

_Sports- Germany beat Brazil..._

_International News-Aurors arrested Gerard Gerroff, famed con-artist, in Belgium earlier this week..._

_News- Weasley's World Wide, in honor of their twentieth anniversary,, will be having a party in celebration of their success. Relatedly, Hugo Weasley, nephew to the famed entrepreneurs, is still missing... _

_Joke..._

The Doctor frowned. Rose didn't seem to be in pain, just uncomfortable. She even chuckled a bit. Then, as if by some magic signal (which it might have been, the Doctor admitted), everybody began to move again. The alarm stopped and Rose took a deep breath, gasping as though she had just been held underwater.

"Blimey, that was weird?"

"What is it? What happened?" the Doctor demanded. "Are you alright?"

Rose explained the odd feeling of images in her brain.

"It was like a news broadcast in my head," Rose wrinkled her nose in distaste. The Doctor didn't say anything for a moment.

"Let me see your phone," he ordered. Rose handed it over to him and he flipped it open, putting his glasses back on again.

"Aha!" he declared triumphantly.

"What?" Rose demanded.

"It seems that Hugo would have been much more easily accepted in this world than back home. They _love _mixing magic with muggle technology, it seems!"

"What do you mean?"

"Read this," the Doctor said, pointing to the small text on the screen. Rose read it and her eyes widened.

"So it _really _was a news broadcast?"

"Exactly! It seems that Cybus Industries, which is apparently a subdivision of Weasley's World Wide, has developed a way of sending news updates directly into users' heads! Humans. Always so impatient."

"Yes, yes, humans are awful. What else does the article say?"

"Those headsets that people are going around wearing?"

"What about them?"

"They aren't headsets. I'm not too sure how they work, since I can't see them up close-once I get one in front of me, though, I'm sure I could figure it out. I'm brilliant obviously, so it shouldn't be too difficult, I once save the universe using just a kettle and some string, after all, but that's beside the point. The point! Oh yes, the _point _is that those headsets act to, well, focus the transmissions, if you will, into more identifiable and gentle images. Your experience was rather rough, wasn't it?"

"My head is still pounding," Rose admitted ruefully.

The Doctor nodded. "Well, everybody else looks perfectly fine, so I'm assuming that the headsets temper that in some way."

"But you weren't affected," Rose frowned.

"My people were telepathic," the Doctor brushed off. "I've long since learned how to block things from my mind."

"Lucky you," Rose muttered, her neck feeling incredibly stiff.

"I'm sorry, Rose," the Doctor said sincerely. "The TARDIS would have protected you, under normal circumstances, but she isn't feeling well-"

"Don't worry about it, Doctor," she laughed. "I'll be fine."

She sobered. "Doctor, you said that those news flash things were real?"

"Yes, why?" the Doctor asked, eyes glued to Rose. He had learned, in the time that they had been together, that Rose often had a habit of noticing things that others didn't, even if she herself didn't realize she was doing it.

Rose was brilliant like that.

"It's just, one of the newsflashes mentioned that Hugo-Hugo from this world, that is- has been missing for some time."

"Really?" the Doctor said, surprised. "So their Hugo is missing and then ours goes and gets kidnapped. Looks like somebody really has a grudge against your brother. Did they give any more information?"

"No," Rose said. "They only mentioned it because apparently my Uncles, ah not my Uncles, sorry, are having a party to celebrate their anniversary. It's weird, though, ain't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they bought Cybus Industries or something, yea? They're shoving information right into people's heads. Cybus owns the cell network, too, don't it?"

"They do," the Doctor sighed. "You're right. That is a low of power for one organization. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

"Do you think it might have something to do with Hugo's kidnapping?" Rose asked hesitantly.

The Doctor let out a puff of air. "I think it might. Weasley's World Wide is bound to have a few conspiracy theories swirling around it-all the best big, powerful companies do, you know. Combine that with Hugo's connection to them and his love of muggle technology... It's all too big of a coincidence if you ask me."

"So what do we do?"

"You mentioned a party?" The Doctor asked eyes twinkling.

Rose nodded "Yea."

"I thought it might be a good place to start." The Doctor said amusedly. "I thought we could put the psychic paper to good use."

Rose squealed in delight. "We're going to a party!"

In the car, Hugo Weasley was not having nearly as good a time as his sister and her friend. The moment he was pulled into the van, he was surrounded by voices berating him.

"Hugo Weasley!" snapped one irate, blonde woman. "Where have you been? You didn't show up to the meeting earlier and we were worried sick! We thought that the aurors had gotten to you! I mean, honestly! What were you thinking, standing out? You're always telling us to keep a low profile!"

"I did say that, didn't I?" Hugo laughed nervously, realizing immediately that he had been mistaken for his parallel-counterpart. "Sorry. Lapse in judgement. Won't happen again, scout's honor."

"Scout's honor?" the young man asked. "Since when do you use muggle expressions?"

"Ah-"

"Oh, never mind," snapped the woman, obviously in no mood for being patient, "but you need to be more careful!"

"I do?" Hugo asked. "Why?"

"Did you hit your head or something?" the young man asked. "You're asking stupider questions than normal!"

"I just meant, why should I be more careful than I was before?" Hugo said desperately trying to cover his mistake. He ignored the barb towards his intelligence. The Doctor had thrown far worse at him.

"What's changed?" Hugo demanded.

"We have proof!" declared the young man.

"Proof of what?" Hugo asked unsurely.

"I saw them!" The woman said eagerly. "I saw them in big, black vans! They went around Black Friar's and gathered people up! Like child catchers or something!"

"They kidnapped them?" Hugo said, alarmed. "Did you go the authorities?"

The man and woman laughed. "Yea, because _they'd _help _us."_

"Besides," noted the young man in his thick Welsh accent, "they were all homeless. Nobody gives a rat's hat about them anyways."

"The vans were owned by a company called Electromagics." The woman continued. "Mr. Moore did a bit of digging, though, and found out that it's not a real company. It's actually a dummy corporation established by- guess who?"

"Why bother?" Hugo said resignedly. "You're going to tell me, anyways."

"Cybus Industries!"

Hugo nodded, not knowing what else to do at this point but just go along with it.

"Tell him the best part, Jackie!" Mr. Moore crooned eagerly.

"We've got it all on video!" The aforementioned Jackie said excitedly. "We now have conclusive proof that Weasley's World Wide is involved in some dirty sort of business!"

"Hang on!" Hugo said, feeling the ire towards these people as they insulted his family grow. "What does Weasley's World Wide have anything to do with this?"

"Weasley's World Wide bought Cybus a few months back, love," Jackie said slowly. "That's when all the trouble started-"

"Actually, that's when first started getting information from our source," corrected Mr. Moore. "From what it looks like, the kidnappings have been going on for much longer."

"Semantics," Jackie denied. She looked at Hugo earnestly. "Point is, we can stop it, now. We have what we need!"

"Only problem is that Thin Jimmy has been arrested-"

"Jimmy Stone?" interrupted Hugo, eyes narrowed.

"Who else?" Jackie said with a roll of her eyes. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"It's been a long night," Hugo muttered with a small smile. At least the Jimmy in this universe got what he deserved. To be fair, parallel-Jimmy could have been a model citizen, but Hugo couldn't help but feel a small amount of satisfaction.

"A good cuppa tea will make you feel loads better, sweetheart," soothed Jackie. "Calm your nerves. We need you in tip-top shape, after all. It leaves just you, now, after all."

"Alright. Good to know."

Then Hugo realized that he was still very confused. "Leaves me what?"

"The Number One. Top of the list. London's Most Wanted."

"Okay, cool." Hugo said, without thinking.

He paused.

"Say that again?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So I'm not dead! Although I feel like I'm dying... geeze I hate being sick. I've been feeling a bit better, though, but it varies day by day. Like, yesterday I felt like crap, but today I feel pretty good! Regardless, I'm doing my best to stay on top of my stories. There might be a bit more of a stretch between updates, though. Or maybe not. We'll see. In the meantime, tell me what you think about this chapter. How's the parallel world? Do you like what I've done with that? And special thanks to trialanderror12 for (inadvertently) giving me the idea to include Jackie in this chapter. <strong>**Love it!**

**tinyrose65**


	16. Under the Radar

After recovering from his shock, Hugo quickly realized that the only way to make it out of this alive was to just play along. He nodded at everything "his" two friends said, occasionally saying something wise sounding, but not very deep. Thankfully Jackie and Mr. Moore were too excited about their proof to care.

At one point, Hugo's phone vibrated, signifying a message. He pulled it out of his pocket and discretely read it. It was from his sister.

_Where r u? The doc and i r looking for u. w r at a party for WWW tonight with fred and george. r u close?_

"Somebody is in the base," warned Mr. Moore. Hugo guiltily deleted the text as they pulled up to their apparent headquarters. It was an old, depilated house. They each exited the van. Both Jackie and Hugo pulled out their wands, but Mr. Moore pulled out some sort of gun.

Hugo frowned when he saw it. Was Mr. Moore a muggle? He didn't have a chance to try and figure it out though, since he was already being lead around the house.

"On three," mouthed Jackie, once they reached the door. "One... two... three!"

Mr. Moore kicked down the door and ran in, gun first. Hugo then followed Jackie, wand raised, and then found himself face to face with-himself?

That is, if he wore almost all black and a scowl that would make even the portrait of Professor Snape that hung in the Headmaster's office nervous.

Mr. Moore and Jackie looked back and forth between him and him. He also seemed shocked to see himself suddenly show up.

Blimey, even thinking in this parallel world was getting confusing.

"What are _you _doing here?"

"What am I doing _here_?" scowled his parallel self. "I think the better question is what am I doing _there?"_

Suddenly three sets of eyes (one of which were his) were on him. Hugo gulped and suddenly wished that he had the Doctor's mouth so he could talk his way out of this mess.

Where was that skinny idiot when you needed him?

The Doctor, as it happened, was currently also in a very dangerous situation. Very dangerous. He was facing one the scariest creatures known to man. More scary than Daleks and Zygons and Slitheen.

He was facing an upset Rose Weasley.

He knew that one of Rose's favorite parts about traveling with him was the chance to indulge her inner child and dress up in period clothes. The more outlandish and accurate the costume, the better. She had worn Renaissance gowns and Grecian garb and Egyptian robes, looking beautiful and loving every minute of it.

She wasn't loving this.

She glared at the Doctor from over the tray she was holding. With the psychic paper, he could have made them anybody. Anybody at all! Instead, he had chosen to make them wait staff. The Doctor noticed her look.

"C'mon, Rose," he said quietly as they stood in the corner. "It's not all bad!"

"I'm a waitress!" she hissed. "A _waitress! _You could have made us anybody in all of Time and Space! Sir Doctor and Dame Rose! But, no! You chose to make us servants. And muggles!"

"What's wrong with muggles?" tutted the Doctor.

"Nothing at all," Rose said smiling forcedly at the party guests, "Back _home._ Here they're treated like second class citizens!"

"Rose, Rose, Rose." the Doctor sighed

Rose didn't appreciate his tone and her deepening scowl told him so. He kept on talking anyways.

"Haven't I taught you anything in all of our time together? If you want to get information, standing out is the _worst _way to get it."

"Really?" Rose griped "Because you seem to do your best to stand out everywhere we go."

"Well we weren't trying to get any information," the Doctor said knowingly. "Besides, the staff knows everything. Forget news reports. These guys are where the knowledge is at. They do nothing but gossip. And clean. And well, work, obviously."

Rose just kept glaring.

"Fine," the Doctor sighed. "Once we get Hugo and leave here, we'll go to Zebby."

"Zebby?" Rose repeated incredulously. "What could be so special about a planet called "_Zebby_?""

The Doctor shrugged. "Nothing really. Rinky-dink planet on the edge of the Dorado solar system. Rains almost year round and most of the food is toxic to humanoids..."

"Great," Rose nodded. "Just what I wanted."

"It is home, however, to what is reputed to be the best spa in the universe."

"And you'll take me there?" Rose demanded. The Doctor nodded, shifting his platter a bit to cross his heart.

"Only if you're on your best behavior, though," the Doctor warned.

"I'm not a dog, Doctor," Rose said through gritted teeth.

"Actually-" The Doctor began, thinking of the small dog belonging to Parallel-Hermione that had had the pleasure of meeting earlier.

"Don't go there," Rose warned, before stalking off to go serve some people champagne. The Doctor watched her affectionately (not that he would ever admit it, since Time Lords didn't do that sort of thing) for a moment and then, with a fond shake of his head, he headed in the opposite direction with his platter of little pigs in a blanket.

He resisted the urge to take some for himself. He did love food that was smaller than it ought to be. He had a feeling that nicking some off the tray would get him fired.

Instead, he decided to follow his own advice. Smiling politely and offering people food as he made his way through the room, he eventually found himself standing next to a tall blonde serving salmon pinwheels.

"Fancy shindig, isn't it?" asked the Doctor out of the side of his mouth. "Oh, shindig, now that's a word!"

The woman glanced at him uncaringly, but then did a double take, gazing at him longer, something sparkling in her eyes that the Doctor couldn't identify.

"It is something, isn't it?" her voice dripping with innuendo. The Doctor frowned, but then smiled again.

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor introduced as pleasantly as he could. "Have you been working here long..."

"Lucy," she finished. "And I've done a few of their parties before."

"Do they have a lot of them, then?" the Doctor asked.

"A fair amount. They've been having them more and more, though," Lucy said. She sidled closer to the Doctor and lowered her voice. "Supposedly, they're splitting up. You know, the business. Fred wants to go back to the joke shop, but George wants to keep expanding. Rumor has it that they had a _huge _falling out over the acquisition of Cybus and have been trying to save face."

"A falling out? Fred and George did?" the Doctor asked, surprised. "Over Cybus? Really? Now why would they do that?"

"Cybus has supposedly been involved in some pretty shady business," Lucy explained.

The Doctor nodded in encouragement.

"Their founder, Lumic? Word has it that he's dying and will do anything to stay alive a bit longer. The President of Britain-" she pointed towards a tall, dark man handsomely dressed in a crisp suit, "that man over there- prohibited a lot of his experiments and Lumic's company was about to go under when Weasley's World Wide bought them."

"Why would Fred and George would fight over that?" the Doctor frowned innocently.

"Well, Fred wasn't sure about buying a company like Cybus, what with it's reputation and all. George assured him that they could keep a close eye on the company once they had bought it, but now that they have, Lumic still runs it."

"Really?" the Doctor prodded subtly. Humans were so easy. Once you got them talking, they could go on for days. Of course, considering the considerable mouth he had inherited this regeneration around, he hardly had a soapbox to stand on.

"Mhm," said Lucy. "Fred's been trying to take it under his control, but my sister, who works at the notary office, says that George doctored some paperwork and made it so that Fred has no power over any decisions regarding Cybus. George has been all but running the company and he seems to be pretty close to Lumic these days."

"He conned his own brother?" gasped the Doctor, sounding disgraced.

Lucy didn't say anything as an elderly woman and her husband approached them to seek snacks. Once they had left, Lucy shrugged.

"Nobody was surprised," Lucy noted. "There's been tension between them since they started expanding. Actually, some say that it's started long before that, since their Hogwarts days, when Angelina Johnson dumped Fred for George."

"Well, the heart wants what the heart wants," the Doctor sighed, his mind instantly filling with images of a certain pink and yellow human.

"It does, does it? And what does your heart want, Doctor?" Lucy purred, batting her eyelashes at him.

The Doctor blinked the thoughts away and found Lucy standing much closer to him than he had anticipated. She was pink and yellow, too, the Doctor supposed, but the colors didn't look as nice on her as they did on Rose. Not to mention Lucy smelled like old flowers. Rose smelled like rasberries and vanilla and roses (as cliche as it was), not to mention a woods-y, musk-y sort of scent that was just _Rose. _

"Ah, I don't really know," the Doctor said. _Liar. _"But I know my stomach has been wanting one of these little wieners."

Lucy didn't seem deterred by his obvious lack of interest.

The Doctor edged a bit away from her and said, quite bluntly, "Is there something in your eye, Lucy?"

"No," Lucy said, taken aback.

The Doctor nodded. "Well, if you're okay, then I think I need to go find Rose."

"Rose?" Lucy uttered, voice dripped with disdain.

"Rose. She's my plus one. She's also prone to wander off and is _very _jeopardy friendly, so I should probably go find her before she starts some sort of war. She's done that before, you know," the Doctor said conspiratorially, tapping the side of his nose.

He left as quickly as he could, scanning the crowd for Rose while trying his best to look like a right, proper, not-rude, muggle servant.

He found Rose serving champagne to several young men, all of whom obviously didn't care that she was (supposedly) a muggle.

The Doctor found his face unconsciously moving to form the same glare he used against some of his most sworn enemies. At Rose's disapproving look, he realized that this was not an expression that the staff was expected to use.

He plastered on his best smile and went to join her. Eventually the men flitted away, leaving Rose and the Doctor to talk.

"Do you practice that face in the mirror, Doctor?" Rose teased, tongue peaking out from between her teeth as she smiled.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the Doctor said imperiously. "Anywho, I've been talking to Lucy-"

"Lucy?" frowned Rose. The Doctor nodded towards the blonde on the other end of the room. Rose nodded. "Ah, _that's _Lucy."

"She had a lot of interesting things to say."

"I'm sure she did," Rose frowned. The Doctor smiled indulgently at her. Green was almost as nice a color on her as pink and yellow, especially when she was wearing it because of him.

"She said that that man, over there in the suit, is the President of Britain."

"President, really?" Rose said surprised. "No Prime Minister, then?"

"Nope," the Doctor said cheerfully. "She also told me that Fred and George had some sort of argument."

"Over what?" Rose asked as they moved through the room.

"Business. Cybus. Angelina."

"Merlin," Rose muttered, watching different people. Her breath caught as a familiar red-haired witch talked to the crowd. She looked decidedly older, but Rose still recognized her. The last time Rose had seen her was with the old Doctor, in the middle of the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters.

"That's Lily Potter," Rose gasped.

The Doctor nodded sagely. "The War never happened here."

"That something else _Lucy_ tell you?" Rose asked scathingly.

"Nah," the Doctor denied. "Some rich bloke with a combover and funny cologne. For some reason, Voldemort never existed in this universe."

"I wonder why?" Rose frowned. "I thought you said he was a fixed point."

The Doctor shrugged. "In our universe, sure, but he doesn't necessarily have to be in this universe."

"Is that normal, though?" Rose asked.

"Well, normally the fixed points do not tend to vary too much throughout the different worlds, but there's always an exception to the rule."

"Are you saying that you actually don't know something?" teased Rose.

"I don't know everything, Rose," the Doctor smiled at her, something tender touching his expression, "Despite how much you think I do."

Rose went to express her surprise, but the sound of a fork clinking against a glass caught her attention. They turned their eyes to the center of the room. Rose instantly recognized her Uncle George. He was smiling.

"Hello everybody," George began. He paused for a minute, taking a second to sip champagne. "I'd like to take this chance to welcome you all to this lovely party. I'm honored to have you all hear to celebrate our newest acquisition, Cybus Industries. Fred and I are sure that they will be a lovely addition to our little family."

"It's hardly little anymore!" called one man from the crowd.

George raised his glass in acknowledgement. "Yes, our company has definitely grown since the small joke shop it once used to be. I never could have made it this far without the support of my friends and family, especially my lovely wife Angelina."

Angelina smiled and nodded gratefully at the quiet applause. Rose clapped politely, but frowned. This sounded absolutely nothing like the George she knew. There were no jokes or insults or teasing remarks. It all sounded well written and too rehearsed.

"Of course, this entire thing never could have happened if it wasn't for my business partner, brother, and friend, Fred."

The applause in the room rose as a decidedly uncomfortable Fred stood up. He raised his glass and then lowered it again, signaling for them to quiet down.

"Ah, yes, thank you." Fred shifted.

"So, normally I don't give speeches, but since today is such a special occasion, I don't really have a choice." Fred said. "No, I mean I _really _don't have a choice. My mum told me that I had to or else she'd ground me."

Rose giggled a bit.

"George, of course, usually handles all of this formal stuff. He always has been much more loquacious than me," Fred continued. He lowed his voice to a stage-whispered. "That's a big word for 'blabbermouth.'"

He raised his voice back to it's normal height. "Of course, I've always been the better looking one."

He shrugged. "So it evens out."

Along with everybody else, Rose clapped in delight (or rather, she tried to; it was rather difficult with a tray).

"As George said, we are very grateful to be where we are today. Weasley's World Wide started out as nothing more than a dream to make people laugh. Our mother was completely against it, of course," Fred continued. "She thought that we'd be throwing our lives away and would soon end up back at the Burrow with absolutely nothing to show for it."

Fred paused and made a point to look around the nicely decorated room, preening a bit in his tux. Some people laughed.

Fred gasped in surprised. "Well, hello, Mr. President. Lovely to see you again."

More laughter.

Fred grew more serious. "Although today is a joyous occasion, we must take a moment to acknowledge the fact that we are missing somebody very important to us: my nephew Hugo, who disappeared almost two months ago. We hope that wherever he is, he is happy and will be returning to us soon."

There was a murmur of agreement.

"Alright, alright," Fred laughed. "I've gone on long enough. I'm not famous for my big speeches. I'm famous for good parties with some nice friends, delicious food, and drinks all around. Well, that's what you came here for, that's what you are going to get!"

There was a loud round of cheering. And the crowd dispersed a bit.

Rose managed to cut her way to it to where her Uncle George was standing.

"Champagne?" she offered. George looked at it then took it gratefully.

"Thank you," he said politely. Rose nodded.

"Never liked champagne myself," Rose said. "A good cuppa tea, that was always my favorite."

"Oh yes," George agreed. "Me, too. Shame they aren't appropriate for these sort of events."

"Nah," Rose denied. "They wouldn't taste as good in a place like this. Right before bed, a good book, warm blanket. _That's_ heaven."

"It is," smiled George. "Definitely no place like it."

"Or with family," Rose continued cautiously. "Laughing, joking, telling stories."

George laughed. "Oh, we used to love doing that at my house."

"My Uncle used to tell me all these stories," Rose said, "About the ridiculous things he and his friends did at school."

"I know the feeling," George said after a moment. "Fred and I used to have some unbelievable moments at Hogwarts."

"Good memories?"

"The best," George said fondly.

Rose took a deep breath. "Are you just going to throw that all away, then?"

"What?" snapped George. He straightened up. "Has the staff been talking about my personal life?"

"No, not at all," Rose said quickly. "I just meant that I've got a brother and I couldn't imagine not having him around-"

"That's enough," George said sharply. "I don't pay the wait staff to talk to me about business."

"Since when has family been business?" Rose asked sharply, forgetting herself for a moment. George glared at her once more.

"As soon as this party is over," George said firmly, not listening. "I'm going to go speak to your supervisor."

He stalked off, mumbling about insubordinate muggles and useless servants. Rose sighed and looked down at the platter she held in her hand. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but she did her best to fight them back, knowing that she was being completely irrational.

"I take it that didn't go well?" the Doctor asked softly, walking up next to her. Rose stole a glance at him and then shoved her tray at him.

"I need some air," she muttered, heading towards the back entrance.

The Doctor watched her leave regretfully. With a sigh, he shifted the platters around and picked a wiener up from the plate, chewing it thoughtfully. He made a face. Not only were they disgusting, but Rose was out there upset and there was nothing he could do about it.

He sighed and went back to work.

The Doctor knew that this parallel world was a bad idea.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yay! Another update. What do you think of the Doctor's POV? I've never tried doing it before (actually, I've done the ninth Doctor's, but never Ten's).<strong>

**Thanks for reading!**

**tinyrose65**


	17. Cybermen

"He's clean," nodded Mr. Moore. "No bugs."

"I _told _you that already," huffed Hugo, annoyed beyond belief. He had been tied down, strip searched, and questioned. He was tired, hungry, and homesick. Hugo vaguely wondered if this had ever happened to Rose and, if it it had, why she kept traveling with the Doctor. This was not his life.

"You look like me," frowned Parallel-Hugo (or P.H., as he had come to be known in Hugo's mind). "You talk like me. You even act like me. Well, that is, if I was completely oblivious and naive."

"I'm not-" Hugo paused and sighed, shifting a bit in his bonds. "Alright, I am."

"Is it Polyjuice potion?" asked Jackie, arms crossed over her chest, glaring at him strongly. P.H. shook his head.

"We've had him here for over an hour. It would have worn off by now."

"Maybe Cybus has invented a method of prolonging Polyjuice potion duration," posed Mr. Moore.

"It's more than that, though," P.H. argued. He raised an eyebrow and asked Hugo, "Who's your dad?"

"Ronald Weasley," Hugo said instantly. "Married to Hermione Granger. They met at Hogwarts during their first year, on the train, actually. Couldn't stop fighting from the moment they met, but, in seventh year, dad finally worked up the nerve to tell her how he really felt."

"That's my family!" P.H. objected. He turned to his group. "See? There is something more going on here!"

"Maybe Cybus stole your memories," Jackie said hesitantly. She was grasping at straws.

Hugo finally took a chance and asked, "Why would they want your memories?"

P.H. laughed darkly. "Do you know who we are?"

"No," Hugo said sourly. "You haven't exactly been forthcoming with information since you brought me here."

"We're the Preachers, as in Gospel, truth." P.H. tapped his ears firmly. "See? No earplugs. Not like the rest of the people out there. Cybus don't report the news anymore. With the power they have, they _make _the news. And because of that, Cybus has control of almost every person of age in the world. They're in people's heads and nobody cares. We, though, _we've _got freedom!"

"What about your families?" asked Hugo.

P.H. sobered for a moment. "They're better off not knowing where I am. You're talking to London's Most Wanted, did you know that?"

"Actually, yes," agreed Hugo. At least there was _one _thing that he knew.

"_Lumic _should be London's Most Wanted," P.H. said darkly, "Not me. And our only mission is to prove it."

"He runs Cybus?" Hugo asked, trying to remember from what he had overheard the group saying.

"Yes," Jackie acknowledged. "We've been after him for ages, but he always hid his tracks well. Since Cybus joined up with the WWWC, though, we've finally made some progress. Found some holes in their security."

"Don't tell him everything, Jacks," P.H. warned. "We still don't know who he is or what he wants."

"I told you!" Hugo argued. "I'm Hugo Weasley and the _only _thing I want is to find my friends and get out of here!"

"Right now," P.H. said coldly, "You aren't going anywhere. We're bringing Lumic down and we can't have you stopping us."

Hugo glanced around doubtfully. "You're going to bring down one of the most powerful men in your world from _your kitchen?"_

"You got a problem with that?" P.H. asked coldly.

"No!" denied Hugo adamantly. "It's a nice kitchen."

A sudden light materialized in the living room. Hugo squinted and watched as a Patronus slowly materialized. A small fox stood in front of them. Hugo shied away from it, not sure who it belonged to, but it seemed familiar to the Preachers.

"It's a message from Gemini," Mr. Moore stated uselessly.

The fox opened it's mouth, "The vans are back. They're moving out of Battersea. Lumic is making his move."

"Let's go! Jackie, get the van. Mr. Moore, get your weapons ready. We might need them." P.H. instructed. He tossed Hugo's shirt at him and undid his bonds with a flick of his wand. "Put that on."

P.H. watched cooly as he got dressed. It was a bit unnerving.

"You've got two options," he said finally, "Either you cooperate and come with us quietly, or you struggle and we put you in a body bind for the rest of the night. What do you say?"

Hugo was quiet for a moment, trying to think of the right thing to say. "Lumic is really as bad as you say?"

"Worse," P.H. affirmed.

"Then I want to help," Hugo decided. P.H. looked at him warily, but then nodded. He handed Hugo his wand. "You make a step out of line and Mr. Moore won't hesitate to blow you up. Am I clear? You get one chance. One."

"One. Got it." Hugo said, taking his wand. "Alright, ready to go."

P.H. raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Hugo frowned. "What?"

"Pants."

"Ah, right." Hugo said, turning bright red. "Best put those on."

P.H. just shook his head in exasperation. As soon as Hugo had pulled on his trousers, P.H. yanked him out towards the van. Hugo was forced into the back with Mr. Moore, who smiled tightly at him and then loaded a gun.

Hugo frowned.

"Where's your wand?" He asked as the van began to move.

Mr. Moore raised an eyebrow, "I'm a muggle."

"Really?" Hugo asked surprised. He still wasn't used to Muggles knowing about magic. Mr. Moore raised an eyebrow.

"Problem?"

"No, not at all," Hugo assured quickly, remembering P.H.'s threat. He really wasn't in the mood to be blown up today. "I was just wondering how you got involved-"

"Oi, quiet back there!" Jackie hissed, as the van suddenly made a sharp turn. "We're tailing the Cybus van!"

"It's not like they can hear us back here," Hugo pointed out reasonably. Jackie scowled and turned around to face the front again. Mr. Moore just smirked, but said nothing.

"Here we are," announced P.H after a few minutes, the van pulling into a long driveway. "Recognize it?"

Hugo didn't. They stepped out silently, sticking to the shadows. Mr. Moore stayed inside the van, but Jackie and P.H. headed towards the house.

Hugo was going to wait inside, but P.H. hissed, "You, come with us."

Hugo crouched lower in the bushes.

"Where are we?" he asked.

P.H. sighed regretfully. "Home sweet home. Well, not my home. Uncle George's, actually."

"Looks like they're throwing a big party tonight," commented Jackie idly. Hugo's ears pricked up. Was it possible that Rose was still there?

"We've got to get in there," Hugo said, without thinking.

Jackie shot him a sharp look. "We are doing no such thing. Not yet, anyways. Weasley's World Wide bought Cybus, remember? For all we know, they could be in on the conspiracy. We need to wait here until it's safe."

"But everybody inside!" argued Hugo.

P.H. shook his head. "That party is probably full of highly skilled witches and wizards, a good portion of them in law enforcement. Not to mention the security. I'm sure they can take care of themselves."

"What are those things?" Jackie asked suddenly. Hugo frowned and watched as a row of heavy metal feet began to descend from the truck. Hugo couldn't see the rest of it, but he knew that whatever Lumic had planned was bad.

Jackie and P.H. began to retreat, but Hugo took the chance. His sister was inside that house. He'd be damned if he let anything happen to her.

"Get back here!" called Jackie, as loud as she dared, but there was little she could do without risking getting caught.

Hugo darted around back and pressed his back up again the wall. Now, all he had to do was find Rose and the Doctor, then get the hell out of here.

Easy.

Unbeknownst to Hugo, Rose was surprisingly close. Emerging from the back of the house, she took several deep breaths, letting the cool air fill her lungs. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly and let out a sniffle.

"Hello?" called a voice from the back porch. Rose jumped, not realizing that somebody was out there. A small light appeared as somebody lit their wand. Rose recognized the face of her Uncle Fred almost immediately.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't realize anybody was out here. I'll be going now-"

"No, no," Fred assured. "Stay. You're fine. I'm Fred, by the way. Fred Weasley."

"Yea, I know who you are," Rose said. "I'm Rose."

She shuffled a bit closer, hesitant. Fred patted the seat next to him and, after a second, she sat down delicately next to him, keeping her eyes down.

"Are you okay?" Fred asked unsurely.

"Yea, fine." Rose said quickly. "I just needed some air."

"I know what you mean," Fred said with a laugh. "It's stuffier than an old bookstore in there."

Rose giggled. "It's your party. I'm surprised you aren't in there-"

"Shmoozing?" Fred asked.

"No!" Rose squeaked. "No! I didn't mean it like that!"

"I know you didn't," Fred replied easily. "No need to get so worked up."

"Sorry," Rose winced. "I just had a run in with your brother-"

"And he chewed you out," Fred finished apologetically. Rose remembered how Uncle George would say that he and Fred used to finish each other's sentences. Rose knew how much her Uncle back home missed it. Considering their relationship in this world, Rose wondered if Uncle Fred missed it, too.

"I'm sorry. He can be a bit uptight," Fred continued sadly.

Rose frowned. "I'm guessing he wasn't always like that?"

"He wasn't," Fred agreed. He grinned ruefully. "We used to have such a good time at school. Pulling pranks, playing Quidditch, goofing off."

"Sounds like a blast," Rose said.

Fred nodded. "It was. We were so excited to open up the shop."

"And then things started getting complicated?" guessed Rose.

"Exactly," Fred sighed, looking out into the backyard. "He kept wanting to expand. More. More. More. He lost sight of why we started Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in the first place. He's not the brother I grew up with."

Fred looked over his shoulder through the window. He watched quietly as his brother laughed heartily at something the President said. George placed an arm around Angelina's shoulders and Fred outwardly winced.

Rose noticed.

"I'm guessing that's not the only reason you two are splitting up?"

"How did you know that?" frowned Fred. Rose stuttered, guilty, but Fred just waved it off. "Stupid question. My relationship with my brother has been the talk of the town, and you're right. It's not the only reason."

Fred was quiet for a second. "Angelina and I used to date, back in school. Then she left me for George."

Rose made a face. "That's a bit weird, ain't it?" Then she softened her words by adding jokingly, "You are the better looking one, after all."

"I know, right!" Fred said shocked. He sobered. "Don't get me wrong. They've given me a lovely niece-"

"Niece?" Rose frowned.

"Freema," Fred explained. "I love her more than anything and I'm thrilled that they're happy together."

"But sometimes you just wonder what it would be like if things were different." Rose finished for him sympathetically. "I know what you mean."

"Oh?" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do tell!"

At his imploring expression, Rose blushed. "I've got this friend, see? Best friend actually. And I'm sort of-"

"In love with him?" Fred teased. Then he frowned. "Or is it a her? You never can tell these days, can you?"

"No, he's a him!" Rose laughed. She fiddled with her hands. "We're just so close. I don't want to mess things up. And I know he doesn't do relationships, not really. It's just that sometimes he looks at me in a certain way or says something and I just think that maybe... but then he goes off and does something and it just reminds me that he's not interested."

Fred sighed. "In love with people who will probably never love us back."

"We're pathetic," Rose agreed.

Fred looked at her curiously. "It's weird. We've just met, but I feel like I know you. Why do I feel like that?"

Rose went to stutter out an explanation. "I guess I just have one of those faces-"

"Oi!" called a familiar voice from the yard. Rose turned and saw Hugo running towards her as fast as she could.

Before she could respond, Fred was running right towards Hugo. "Hugo! Hugo you're alright! You came back!"

Fred threw his arms around her brother and hugged him tightly. Rose, who had been going to meet him, slowed, realizing that this person might very well be the parallel version of Hugo. The panicked expression he threw her over Fred's shoulder assured her that he was, as a matter of fact, her brother.

"Where have you been?" Fred suddenly demanded, shoving Hugo away from him, gripping him firmly by the shoulders. Hugo stuttered.

"It's a long story," he said finally, "and it can wait."

He turned to Rose. "Rose, we need to find the Doctor and get out of here. I don't have time to explain, but I will I promise. There's something going on here, more than you know. These people need help. They need the Doctor."

"Why what's going on?" Rose demanded.

"There were these big, metal, _things, _Rose! I saw them! They were unloading them from the trucks. Dozens of them."

"Big, metal, things" instantly brought only one thing to mind.

"Daleks?" she demanded. "Were they Daleks?"

"I don't know!" huffed Hugo. "What do Daleks even look like?"

"A pepper pot on steroids," Rose answered immediately. Hugo wrinkled his nose but then shook his head.

"No, they definitely didn't look like that."

"Okay," Rose assured him, breathing a sigh of relief. "The Doctor was inside serving food the last time I checked-"

"Really?" Hugo asked. He tried to imagine the Doctor serving food to a room of rich and snobby wizards.

"He thought that it would be the best way to get information." Rose explained.

Fred interrupted and asked Hugo "I'm sorry, but do you know her?" He pointed at Rose, obviously disbelieving.

"Of course I know here," Hugo replied without thinking. "She's my sister."

"Your sister?" cried Fred.

"It's complicated," Hugo began, obviously about to try and explain everything to him. Rose tugged on his arm.

"Hugo!" she demanded. "This was urgent a moment ago!"

"Right," Hugo said, "We need to find the Doctor!"

Rose pulled both him and Fred into the house. She scowled when she realized that the Doctor was no longer in the main room. She turned to Hugo.

"You take the dining room. I'll take the kitchen." Rose turned to Fred, who still looked completely bewildered. "Uncle Fred, you come with me."

She tugged him along, ignoring the bewildered look of the guests, and barreled into the kitchen. Rose stood on her tiptoes, trying to make out the familiar tuft of messy, brown, hair.

"So you're Hugo's sister?" demanded Fred. "But Ron and Hermione would never give up a child."

"They didn't," Rose denied.

"But Hugo said-"

"I know what Hugo said," she snapped, annoyed that the Doctor was nowhere in sight. She had no idea what was going on, but she had never seen Hugo looking so worried. "It's complicated, alright. We'll explain everything, though. Maybe. But right now, we really need to find the Doctor."

"He the bloke you fancy?" Fred asked curiously, as Rose pulled them out of the kitchen and into the hallway, meeting an empty-handed Hugo in the hallway.

"You fancy the Doctor?" Hugo asked. "I knew it!"

"Can we really not talk about this right now!" Rose demanded.

"Right, sorry," Hugo muttered.

Rose turned to Fred. "If you were a hyperactive man with an oral fixation and a penchant for trouble, where in this house would you be?"

Fred's mouth opened and closed in shock, nothing coming out. Rose heard some swearing from down the hall.

"There," Rose and Hugo said together, darting away. Fred watched them in open-mouthed surprise.

"This is the most bizarre day I've ever had," Fred whimpered. He ran after them and the three ended up in what Fred knew to be George's office. There was a skinny man standing over a computer, shining a small, blue light over it.

"Doctor!" Rose called, running to his side. He looked up from his work, obviously frustrated. Then his eyes landed on Hugo.

"Hugo!" He beamed, excited to seem him. Well, Rose mused, that was a first. He gestured for her brother to come closer. Hugo did so and the Doctor gestured to the sleek computer in front of him. "I've been trying to get into this computer for almost twenty minutes, but can't get past the magical signature check."

Hugo frowned and began to tap away at the keyboard, face the epitome of concentration. Fred closed and locked the door as he fully stepped into the room. The Doctor frowned when he saw him.

He raised an eyebrow in Rose's direction, disapproving.

"I blame Hugo," she said immediately.

"Just like old times," Hugo said drily, straightening. "Uncle Fred, could you try to get in?"

Fred frowned. "This is George's personal computer. It won't let me in."

"You're identical twins," the Doctor realized. "Your magical signatures will be close, if not almost identical."

"I should be able to use that to get in much more quickly." Hugo affirmed. Fred pulled out his wand, but didn't move closer to the computer. He eyed the three of them warily, frown illuminated by the light of the moon streaming in through the window.

"I'm still incredibly confused," Fred said finally.

The Doctor shrugged. "Understandable."

Fred looked at Hugo hesitantly. "Something is obviously going on here and you seem to think that the Doctor can do something about it. I'll help, but I need you to tell me whether or not you trust this man."

"I absolutely trust him," Hugo said firmly.

"He's not some sort of mad man, is he?" Fred asked doubtfully.

The Doctor looked thoroughly amused as Hugo replied again with, "I absolutely trust him."

At first, Rose thought Fred wasn't going to help him, but then he shrugged and nudged Hugo out of the way. "I've gone on much less."

Hugo and Fred made quick work of the computer, Hugo getting past the security protocols with only a few flicks of his wand.

"What are you looking for, Doctor?" Hugo asked, as the Doctor once again took over for him. The Doctor shrugged, obviously not knowing himself, and opened up a file. Lumic's voice came out from the speakers.

"This is the ultimate upgrade. Our greatest step into Cyberspace."

On the screen, a diagram of what looked to be some sort of robot appeared and the Doctor's skin paled. Hugo grew excited.

"That's them!" he pointed. "That's what I saw."

"Where?" the Doctor demanded, gripping Hugo furiously by the shoulders and shaking him. "Where did you see them?"

"Outside," Hugo stammered, surprised. "They were being unloaded from vans."

The Doctor cursed and ran outside. "It's happening again!"

Rose caught up with him and grabbed his hand. She demanded, "Whad'ya mean?"

"I've seen them before," the Doctor explained, panting slightly as they entered the main room. The crowd was quiet, not a word escaping them. Rose strained to see over their heads and could just make out the President talking to one of the metal robots she had seen on the computer.

"What are they?" Hugo hissed quietly.

"Cybermen," the Doctor explained, before taking Rose's hand and trying to work his way through the crowd.

They made it to the center of the circle, where the President was talking to a Patronus, shaped like a large vulture.

"I forbade this, Lumic," the President warned.

Dark chuckles emanated from the Patronus. "They are my family, President. Surely you would not have me destroy my family?"

"What are they?" Rose asked. "Robots?"

"Worse," the Doctor said darkly. He raised his voice. "Why not tell them the truth, Lumic. Who were these people?"

"Nobody important," Lumic said easily.

"They were people?" George gasped from the side of the room. He looked so horrified that Rose was worried that he would be physically sick.

"Not anymore. They were, until they had all their humanity taken away. It's a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body. With a heart made of steel."

"Why no emotions?" Rose dared to ask.

"Because they hurt."

"Lumic," George said angrily, "this was not what we talked about. You said nobody would be hurt."

"Nobody was hurt," the Patronus said.

"What about all those people?" the President asked. "Who were they?"

"Hopeless. Homeless. Wretched. They were nobodies, useless until _I _saved them and elevated them. I gave them life eternal. And now, Mr. President, Mr. Weasley, I leave you in their capable hands."

The Patronus dissipated and a Cyberman stepped forward to take it's place.

"You will be upgraded," intoned it's sharp, metallic voice. Rose heard no emotion, no feeling. If she hadn't known better, she would have argued that there was no way that that machine could have ever once been human.

"Into what?" the Doctor questioned.

The Cyberman slowly turned it's head to him. "The next level of humankind. We are Human Point Two. Every citizen will receive a free upgrade. You will become like us."

George stepped forward. "I'm sorry what's been done to you. I knew Lumic had been working on something, but had I known the full extent of his experiments, I would have stopped him immediately."

George turned to the crowd. "Listen to me. This experimenting ends tonight."

George raised his wand and went to aim a spell at the Cyberman. He waved his wand. Nothing happened. He tried again.

He raised his eyes to the Cyberman, face aghast. "What have you done to my wand?"

"All magical abilities have been blocked. You cannot fight. You cannot escape. Upgrading is compulsory."

The muttering of the crowd increased and Rose pushed herself closer to the Doctor, not sure about what would happen next.

"And what if we refuse?" the President questioned strongly.

"Don't," the Doctor said quickly. Rose frowned and looked at him, confused. He was never one to surrender.

"Why?"

"What if we refuse?" the President repeated.

"You will be deleted," the Cyberman said simply. Before Rose could think to ask what that meant, the Cyberman grabbed the President by the neck. A sharp electrical shock surrounded him, bathing him in bright blue light. The Cyberman let him go. He fell to the floor, obviously dead.

The crowd, which had been barely calm before, now flew into a panic. They began to scream and run.

"Angelina!" called George, running to his wife. The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and tugged her towards one of the open windows.

"Hugo!" she cried over her shoulder. Her brother, seeing her, grabbed their Uncle and pulled him along as well. Exiting the house through the window, they emerged in the front yard. Screaming could be heard behind them.

Rose tried to head back, but the Doctor held her tight.

"We can't just stand here!" Fred argued. "My family is in there-"

"There is nothing you can do for them," the Doctor said firmly. They ran up the slope of the driveway, but were greeted by a row of Cybermen.

"Other way!" the Doctor panicked, yanking Rose's arm hard to turn her the other way. If her shoulder was still attached to it's socket by the end of this, it'd be a full blown miracle.

"The side gates!" Fred ordered.

They sprinted towards the direction he pointed to. Through his shallow breathes, Fred began to ask the Doctor questions."Who are you? How do you know so much? What the _hell _is going on?"

"You wouldn't believe me in a million years!" The Doctor called. He skidded to a halt and Rose almost ran into him. They were facing yet another row of Cybermen.

"They're everywhere!" Hugo said needlessly. They could all see that for themselves. The Cybermen were advancing on them when two figures jumped out of the bushes.

"Get behind us!" called Hugo-but not Hugo. The parallel version of Hugo. He and his friend held up guns, firing into the group of Cybermen, stopping them from advancing, but only for a moment.

"Bloody hell," Fred groaned. "This has got to be a dream. A ridiculous, impossible, terrifying dream."

"It's not," denied Parallel-Hugo, "Because if it was, you'd probably be waking up right about now."

The Cybermen stepped closer. Parallel-Hugo raised his gun again, but the Doctor held up his hand. "Put the guns down. Bullets won't work on them. Neither will your wands."

The other young man ignored them and continued to fire wildly. It did nothing to stop the onslaught. The Doctor grabbed the young and yanked it downward, glaring angrily. "Stop! Just stop!"

The Doctor raised his hands. "We surrender, hands up."

Rose and the rest of their group raised their hands, acting out of a mixture of shock, desperation, and trust.

"See? We aren't fighting back. We're good stock, available for upgrade."

The Cyberman in front didn't say anything. Finally, it beeped out, "You are rogue elements."

The Doctor's face scrunched up in confusion. "But this is a surrender!"

"You will be deleted."

"Listen to me! We're surrendering!"

"You are inferior. Men will be reborn as Cybermen, but you will perish under maximum deletion."

The Cybermen raised it's arm and reached for the Doctor. Rose grasped her brother's hand, terrified.

"Delete. Delete. Delete."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yay! Another update! Hope you liked it!<strong>

**13Opals: I actually thing you have an account on the site now, but can't be sure you're the same person, so I decided to reply this way just to be safe :P First off, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and decided to read past the first chapter! Second, I didn't cover Bad Wolf too much in this story because I'm assuming that everybody who's reading it has at least a rudimentary knowledge of seasons 1 and 2. Don't worry, though! You'll see more of Bad Wolf later on. Third, I don't mind the ranting! I love it! They're the best sort of reviews (although any review is great, truth be told). Feel free to give me your honest feedback! I try to do the best I can to take everybody's opinions into account. Plus, if you leave a longer review, I'm more likely to respond (as you can see here :P I usually use PM, though, for future reference)**

**That being said, I'm grateful to everybody's attention to this story and can't believe that I'm almost done with the first part! It's so weird... Please keep reviewing, though. Like I said, I love feedback. It helps me come up with different ways to make the rewrite different (nobody likes a stale, boring, rewrite, do they? :P)**

**tinyrose65**


	18. The Dangers of Upsetting Jackie Tyler

Rose let out a relieved laugh as she, the Doctor, Hugo (both of them), parallel-Hugo's friend, and Fred clambered into the van driven by another one of parallel-Hugo's associates. The woman in question floored it as soon the door shut behind them

"That was beyond lucky," Rose said, panting. It was sheer luck that the Doctor had the power cell from the TARDIS on him and was able to use it to disintegrate the Cybermen. The alien in question just laughed at her from his seat beside her and put his arm around her in a makeshift hug.

"Ah, that wasn't luck," he said with an over-the-top wink. "I'm just that good."

"Yes, yes," Parallel-Hugo said with a role of his yes. "You're brilliant. Now will you shut up and tell me what the hell that thing was?"

The Doctor frowned. "Which is it? Do you want me to shut up or tell you what I did? I can't do both, you know. Very few species can. Actually, there's a race near the Horsehead Nebula called the Frillits who can speak through their noses! Their noses!"

"Look, mate," Parallel-Hugo said annoyed, "I don't care if you speak through your mouth, your nose, or your a-"

"Hugo!" Mr. Moore warned.

Hugo finished by saying, "Just tell me what you used on those metal things!"

The Doctor fished the power cell out of his pocket and held it in the palm of his hand. Rose leaned closer to get a better look at it. "Just a little something from home."

"It's not glowing anymore," Hugo (the normal one) said, decidedly alarmed. "Does that mean the power has been drained?"

"Nah," the Doctor said carelessly, placing the cell back in his pocket. "I've got it on a revitalizing loop. It should charge up again in about four hours."

"Great," sighed Mr. Moore (at least, that's what Rose heard parallel-Hugo call him). "That means we don't have a weapon anymore."

"Oh we've got weapons," parallel-Hugo said darkly. "They might not work on those metal things, but they'll work on a man like him."

Fred looked up from his hunched position on one of the seats. He was wringing his hands nervously, no doubt worried about his brother and the rest of his family and friends and whether or not they had survived.

"Did you mean me?" He asked confusedly. "What did I do?"

"Let me see," Hugo mocked. "Worked with your brother to develop those metal things. Laid out a trap for the government that left Lumic in charge."

"Are you mental?" Fred asked. "I've been against Cybus from the beginning! I had no idea what Lumic was up to! Not to mention my entire family is probably dead, now!"

"Do you expect us to believe that?" Parallel-Hugo scoffed. "Maybe your plan went wrong. Who knows. But you own half the business. That gives us more than enough reason to execute you."

"Now hang on," the Doctor said firmly. "Start talking about executions and you'll make _me _your enemy. And you really don't want that."

"That's not fair! Who are you tell us what to do?" argued parallel-Hugo. "Besides, we have evidence that Cybus and Weasley's World Wide has been covering something big up for a while! Tell 'em, Tyler!"

"We've got a mole in Cybus who's been feeding us information for a while! Lumic's private files, his trips to South America. Secret broadcasts twice a week."

"From a source called Gemini?" Fred asked with a raised eyebrow. Mr. Moore narrowed his eyes.

"How do you know that?"

"I'm Gemini!" Fred explained. "He's me!"

"You don't expect us to believe that."

"Magically encrypted Patronus on wavelength six-five-seven using binary nine."

Jackie almost crashed the car in shock and Mr. Moore and parallel-Hugo exchanged surprised glances.

"Look," Fred tried to explain, "I only agreed to buy Cybus because George convinced me that it would be a good asset to have. He told me that we could remove Lumic from the head of the company, and I could tell he meant it. I guess Lumic managed to get him to change his mind, though, because after we signed the contracts, I learned that I had absolutely no control over Cybus and that Lumic was to remain in charge."

"Do you think it had something to do with those Cybermen things?" Hugo asked curiously. Fred shrugged.

"I don't know." Fred admitted. "I didn't like the look of things, so I began to poke around, look at files. I couldn't see George's files, like you saw earlier, but tt wasn't too difficult to get into Lumic's files. Most his security isn't advanced enough to distinguish between mine and George's magical signatures."

"Except for a few," the Doctor finished, nodding as he pieced things together in his head. "Those were probably the ones dealing with the Cybermen."

"But something still doesn't make sense." Rose pointed out. She refused to believe that her Uncle George (in _any _universe) would do something so awful and so foolish. She knew he wasn't the same man, but it was still difficult to accept. "George acted so surprised when he saw the Cybermen, but there were all those files on George's computer."

The Doctor pursed his lips for a moment. "George only seemed surprised that the Cybermen were once human. Their actual existence didn't seem to bother him at all."

"But what was he planning to do with them?" Fred asked, obviously in anguish. Rose didn't know what to tell him. A part of her wanted to reassure her that George had simply planned on extending the longevity of the human life and that his intentions were pure and that he had been manipulated by Lumic. She couldn't be sure though. Rose refused to reassure him with false hopes.

"I don't know." The Doctor said simply.

Fred nodded resignedly. "I had no clue what he was up to, either, so I began to report what I was finding. I thought it was to the Ministry or the Aurors! Not to Scooby-doo and his gang! They've even got a van!"

"That's not fair!" Hugo defended. "The Preachers know what they're doing! P.H. is London's Most Wanted!"

Rose smiled. Her brother was not the sort of person who could watch others being put down-except for maybe when he was being put down by the Doctor. She wondered for how much longer he would put up with it.

"P.H.?" The Doctor asked blankly.

Hugo shrugged. "Parallel-Hugo was getting to be too much of a mouthful."

"Yea, about that," P.H. said hesitantly, "I might not have been entirely truthful-"

"So you aren't London's Most wanted?" Hugo clarified.

"No, I am!" He assured quickly. He grinned sheepishly. "Just, for parking tickets."

Seeing everybody's looks, P.H. went on to explain, "They were deliberate! Fighting the system! Park anywhere!"

"Good policy!" The Doctor beamed. "I'm the Doctor by the way, and that's Rose!"

Rose waved.

"Great," Fred muttered. "Scooby-doo and the catering staff. We're saved."

Rose watched him quietly. "I knew you weren't a traitor."

"How's that, then?" Fred asked.

Rose shrugged, feeling the Doctor's eyes on her. "Just did."

"They took my brother, my family, everybody," Fred winced. Rose didn't know what to tell him to make him feel better. "Even worse is that they might be alive. It'd be one thing if they were dead. Dead, I could accept. But turned into one of those things! Those _Cyber-things!"_

"Cybermen," The Doctor corrected. "And I'd take those earpods off if I were you. Lumic could be listening."

Fred did as he was instructed, obviously not in the mood to question anybody's authority right now. The Doctor examined the motley crew in front of him.

P.H. was clearly dedicated to his cause, but he might be too dedicated. The Doctor would need to watch for that.

Jackie had shown herself to be a capable getaway driver, but the Doctor didn't really know much else.

In the regular world, the Doctor knew Fred had a reputation as a fairly powerful and rather innovative wizard. Whether that remained in this universe had yet to be seen and, even if it had, Fred might be too marred by grief.

Hugo might have his moments of sheer stupidity, but he had proven himself useful in a pinch and his skills would come in handy here (not that the Doctor would ever admit it).

Rose went without saying. She was brilliant. Always was, always would be.

Mr. Moore, the only muggle of the group, stood in the corner of the van, bracing himself against the wall and fiddling with a small, electronic device. The Doctor couldn't help but grin. Here was a man after his own heart, what with his constant fidgeting and need to be doing something. Maybe he could make a new friend!

"Do you like bananas?" the Doctor asked, without thinking.

It was clear that this was not the right thing to say.

Jackie's face turned red.

Mr. Moore looked at his angry coworker and decided to risk answering. "Ah, no, not particularly. Sorry."

"Oh." The Doctor deflated.

There went the potential of _that _relationship. It was a shame, too, because he loved making new friends. Still, he had Rose, and she was more than enough. She _loved _bananas-maybe not quite to the same level he did, but still, one of her favorite activities during their downtime in the TARDIS was making banana splits with him. Most of the time, though, they didn't get to eat any of it, as they ended up in a huge food fight, with both of them covered in ice-cream and sprinkles.

"We're running away from giant, killer robots-" Jackie began.

"Technically, they're not robots. They're-"

"I don't care what they are!" Jackie screeched. "We barely got away, dozens didn't and are probably dead, a good portion of whom are good, innocent, people, and you're asking about _bananas!"_

_"_Well-"

"Who _are _you, anyways?" Jackie snapped.

"I told you." The Doctor sat up straight. "I'm the Doctor."

"Yea?" Jackie scowled at him. "Then stitch this, mate!"

Before the Doctor could protest or duck or do something Time-Lord-y and impressive, Jackie pulled out her wand and aimed it, shooting a silent curse at him. The Doctor let out a yelp as it hit, sending him toppling to the floor of the van.

Rose was next to him a moment later, helping him sit up. "Are you alright, Doctor?"

The Doctor nodded, trying to clear his head, and opened his mouth to answer. However, instead of words, emerging, a large, green slug fell from his mouth. Rose squealed (more in surprise than anything else), and leaned back to avoid it.

The Doctor made a disgruntled noise as another one fell from his mouth with a load burp.

"Rose!"-slug- "The counter-curse!"-slug- "Undo it!"

"Oh, Doctor," Rose said, looking both sad for him, but also on the verge of laughter, "There isn't one. You'll just have to wait it out!"

"Wait it-" The Doctor was cut off by another slug.

"It shouldn't take too long," Rose soothed, looking more sympathetic. She pulled it her wand and flicked it two times: vanishing the slugs on the floor with one, and conjuring a bucket with the other. The Doctor took it gratefully and let another slug fall inside, almost missing as the van gave another sharp turn.

Rose sighed and got up, pulling the Doctor with her. He let himself be lead to one of the seats that lined the side of the van. Hugo scooted to make room for them. The Doctor sat down and gave his best and scariest glare to Jackie. She didn't flinch. He supposed the effect was slightly dimmed because he was bent over a bucket. Hopefully she still got the message that he _would _get his revenge.

The Doctor coughed up a particularly large slug and Rose frowned. She took the bucket from him, ignoring his protests, and placed it by her feet. Then she took him by his shoulders and guided him so that his head was in her lap and then began to rub his back soothingly.

He almost melted.

Here was Rose risking getting slug-slime all over her favorite trainers just so he could be more comfortable (and he knew they were her favorite; she had a made a huge deal of them getting filthy when he miscalculated their landing and they ended up in a swamp).

He knew that the group was discussing some sort of plan, but he couldn't really hear anything. Rose had moved from rubbing his back to running her hands through his hair and he was lost in the sensation.

If this is what he got from being cursed, he could live that.

Happily.

The Doctor decided then that he wouldn't get his revenge on Jackie. Instead, he'd send her one of those fancy fruit baskets where the fruit was arranged to look like flowers. He thought they were rather pointless, but humans seemed to really like them. He wondered if they had those in the parallel world.

As Rose continued to stroke his hair and coo comforting noises at him, the Doctor felt the beginnings of a purr build in his throat. As much as he knew he should stop it, he found he couldn't. Thankfully, a slug chose that moment to work its way up his throat, meaning that instead of a purr, an odd wheezing sound accompanied the slug.

Oh, sure, his people would throw a fit if they saw him like this, because of dignity and Time-Lords didn't almost-purr, but Time-Lords never had Rose Weasley expertly stroking their hair. This lead him to wondering how many other men Rose had done this to, and whether or not they were related to her, and if he could expose the ones who weren't as some sort of evildoer intent on taking over the world.

He had just composed the perfect plan for doing so, when he realized that everybody was looking at him expectantly.

"What?" He asked, baffled. He threw up another slug, but they were getting less frequent, he was a tad dismayed to note. The Doctor wondered if Rose would keep stroking his hair when he stopped.

Rose gave Jackie an accusing look. "This is all your fault! The Doctor is our best bet of getting out of here alive and you went and hexed him and now he can't think straight!"

The slugs were only making him mildly uncomfortable, not nearly enough to distract him. Still, with no way of knowing how Rose would react if she knew the real reason for his lack of focus, he kept his mouth shut.

Well, he did until he realized that his reputation was being put on the line.

"I can think straight!" He said after a moment. He frowned in confusion. "What was the question again?"

"Any ideas about what we do now?" Rose asked slowly.

"Oh, yes, of course!"

"You've got a plan then?" Hugo asked hopefully.

"Well, not yet," the Doctor said with a shrug, "But I'm working on it."

The Doctor paused to hack up another slug. Jackie watched him in despair. "We're doomed!"

"No, we aren't," The Doctor assured, voice slightly scratchy. "Lumic may be powerful, but he's still just a businessman. He's assassinated the President, killed countless others. We can report him to the authorities and they'll take it from here."

The Doctor's eyes grew old for a moment and he was lost in past battles, won and lost. "I won't let his happen again."

He turned his fierce gaze back to the occupants of the van. "This ends tonight."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yay! Another update! Granted, it's a bit shorter, but still! So, trialanderror12 has been waiting for this for a while, so hopefully its as good as expected! I didn't really plan on making the scene (that is, the Doctor getting hexed) so long, but I had a bad day and needed some fluff and it pretty much wrote itself. Hopefully you all like it, nonetheless.<strong>

**I got some great ideas from the reviews for the previous chapters, so keep them coming! Trialanderror12 showed some interest (a while back) in the Doctor meeting Rose's family. I loved the idea, but it'd have to be a separate story-one-shot-tag type thing. Would anybody else be interested in something like that?**

**tell me what's on your mind and I hope you have a great rest of the week, if I don't update before the weekend :)**

**tinyrose65**


	19. Lumic

Below Battersea Power Station, ran a system of cooling tunnels. Dark, musty, and obviously very cold, they were not the sort of place that people generally liked to spend their time. Tonight, though, two men were making their way through them carefully.

The Doctor took his final step off of the ladder and looked around as Mr. Moore followed him. Mr. Moore fumbled in his pockets for a bit and pulled out a few torches for each of them. The Doctor lit his and looked around. He nodded in approval. "Nice place. The lighting is a bit rubbish, though. Looks like the sorta place Voldemort might be hiding out, don't you agree?"

"Voldemort?" Mr. Moore asked, coming up behind him. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Voldemort," he repeated. Seeing that Mr. Moore still didn't know what he was talking about, he elaborated, "You-Know-Who!"

"No, I don't," Mr. Moore said hotly.

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the Dark Lord, Tom Riddle-"

"Riddle!" Mr. Moore said, sounding pleased that he had finally figured out who the Doctor was talking about. "You mean the Minister of Magic?"

"He's the _what?"_ the Doctor demanded.

"Mind you, I've never heard those nicknames before," Mr. Moore chuckled as they began to walk through the tunnels, the Doctor warning him to watch for trip-switches. "I actually like Riddle. Much better than Fudge. He's half-blood, you know. Some reckon' that might mean better treatment for us Muggles somewhere down the line, but I doubt it."

"Speaking of," the Doctor mentioned, "How did a Muggle like you get involved with a group like the Preachers?"

"Now that's a story," Mr. Moore snorted. "You have to understand, Doctor, not all wizards and witches are as accepting of Muggles as your Rose or both of the Hugos or Jackie or even Fred. My parents were killed when I was only ten years old by a pair of wizard supremacists."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said genuinely, in that way that he had, that made you know that he truly meant it and that he would have done anything to have prevented it.

Mr. Moore shrugged. "It was a real kick in the-ah, well... I knew then that I needed to learn how to defend against wizards- not just for me, you see, but I have a little sister. Molly, her name is. I'd give anything to keep her safe."

"I understand," the Doctor nodded. "She's the only family you have left."

"I can't defend myself with magic, so I took to computers, explosives, and Muggle weapons. Most of them are phased out at this point, but you can learn a lot from the history books with a bit of digging. That's actually how I met the Preachers. Accidentally found a file for Cybus, opened it, and next thing you know I've got Aurors knocking down my door. Found the Preachers, they gave me a chance, I've been with them ever since."

"Digging around in places you aren't supposed to," the Doctor nodded. "That always leads to trouble. That's how Rose met me, you know. Well, that's how she found who I was, at any rate. Got curious and did a bit of research. We met when I blew up her job, though."

"I'm sure she's fine, Doctor," Mr. Moore said, trying to ease the Doctor's unspoken fear. The Doctor didn't say anything. Both Rose and Hugo had undertaken a very dangerous mission on his behalf.

After they realized that all of London had been taken over, the Doctor knew that the only way to stop this was to attack Lumic himself. Jackie had found some old blue-prints, revealing the cooling ducts underneath Battersea Station, which is where he and Mr. Moore were now.

The Doctor had used his screwdriver and found that the transmitter Lumic was using was above the power station in a zeppelin. Hugo and Jackie had gone off to do that. After parallel-Hugo's death and Jackie's scathing words to him, Hugo finally seemed to have grown a backbone.

The Doctor was proud of him.

Hugo had stood up for himself and for his abilities, and Jackie had grudgingly allowed him to go with her.

As for Rose, she had gone with Fred, who, in a desperate bid to find his brother and the rest of his family still alive, had decided to attack Lumic's headquarters straight on, by pretending to be under his control. The Doctor didn't know if Fred's desperation came from a need to save his family, a need to uncover his brother's true motives in his work with Lumic, or both; but Rose, never one to abandon her family (even if they weren't _really _ her family) had gone with him- straight into the lion's den.

"What about your sister, Ms. Molly Moore?" the Doctor asked, quickly changing the subject so he wouldn't have to dwell on Rose and the danger she was in. "How does she fit into all this?"

"She doesn't," Mr. Moore said quickly. "She thinks I'm dead. That's the best way, the safest way. You understand that, don't you, Doctor?"

The Doctor didn't say anything for a moment. "I understand, you want her safe. But here's the funny thing about people who care for you: they often don't care about the risks. Rose and Hugo risks their lives everyday just by knowing me. They can turn around any time they want and go home. But do they ever do it? No. The one time I tried to send Rose home, she took all of time and space into her head to come back. Spread her name across the stars so she would know where to find me. And Hugo and her cousin, Al, helped her."

"I'm not bringing Molly into this," Mr. Moore said coldly.

The Doctor shook his head. "I'm not saying you should. I'm just saying don't be surprised when she comes knocking at your door, with a hug to say how much she missed you and a slap to tell you what an idiot you were being."

Mr. Moore didn't have a response, so both he and the Doctor didn't say anything for a while. He broke the silence. "My real name isn't Mr. Moore, you know."

The Doctor grinned. "No? Well I always loved a good alias. Go on, then, what's your real name?"

Mr. Moore grinned back. "Andrew Price."

"Nice name."

"Don't tell a soul," Mr. Moore warned.

"I swear, Mr. Moore," the Doctor said solemnly.

Because he _was_ Mr. Moore, he always would be. Just like the Doctor would always be the Doctor, even if anybody did ever learn his name. He was the man who fixed things just like Mr. Moore was the Muggle in a wizard's fight.

"Doctor!" Mr. Moore called suddenly. "Did that one just move?"

The Doctor moved his torchlight to the Cyberman that Mr. Moore was pointing out. It stood still. The Doctor watched it for a moment, but finally shook his head. "It must have just been the torchlight."

The continued forward for another few feet, when another Cyberman turned, definitely moving. The Doctor and Mr. Moore looked around frantically, watching as more and more Cybermen turned to face them.

"They're alive!" Mr. Moore said urgently.

"Run!" The Doctor ordered, as he began to sprint towards a latter at the end of the tunnel. The Cybermen fell in line behind them, marching towards them and steadily gaining speed.

"Go, go, go!" Mr. Moore urged, forgetting all sense of propriety and shoving the Doctor's bum to help him move up the ladder faster. The Doctor, who had finally reached the top and was attempting to sonic the door open, shot an annoyed look at the Muggle.

"I'm working on it! No need to get handsy! Only Jack was allowed to do that- well, I say _allowed, _but truth is I just let him because he'd do it even if I told him not to. Not that there's anything _wrong _with that sort of thing, of course-"

"I'm glad to hear you're comfortable with your sexuality, Doctor," Mr. Moore said, gripping the ladder tightly, "But would you please _hurry?"_

"There we go!" The Doctor cheered, finally managing to unlock the door. He and Mr. Moore jumped through it, barely out of reach of the Cybermen. The Doctor used his Sonic to lock the door shut and, for a moment, the two men stood in the silence corridor, taking deep breaths.

"Well, that was new," Mr. Moore gasped.

"Was it?" The Doctor asked lightly. "Happens to me and Rose all the time."

Mr. Moore gave the Doctor an incredulous look. "Why does that not surprise me?"

The Doctor didn't bother dignifying this with an answer. Instead, he held his finger up to his lips and began to edge quietly along the side of the corridor. Mr. Moore followed him, their footsteps echoing loudly in the metal hallway.

For a moment, they both let out sighs of relief, glad that they had escaped the Cybermen. But just as their heart rates slowed, stepped out of the shadows and in front of them.

"You are not upgraded," it stated.

Mr. Moore narrowed his eyes. "Yea? Upgrade this, then, mate!"

The Doctor didn't get a chance to see what Mr. Moore threw at the Cyberman- it was small and metal was all that he could tell. Whatever it was, though, it did the trick. It sparked wildly and the Cyberman fell to the floor a few seconds later, electrocuted. The Doctor approached it cautiously.

"What was that?" he asked Mr. Moore curiously.

"Electro-magnetic bomb," Mr. Moore said proudly. "It shorts out computers, so I thought it might do the same to a Cyberman."

"You thought right," the Doctor praised. He knelt down near the cyber-suit and put on his glasses. Taking out his sonic screwdriver, he held it up to the logo on the chest. He snorted. "Lumic's turned these things into a brand. Figures. Now, let's see what we've got here-"

He carefully pried off the chest plate. "Heart of steel, that doesn't surprise me. But, hello! Look at this!"

Mr. Moore moved closer and shined his torchlight on the Doctor's hands. They were holding what looked to be some sort of bodily tissue. Mr. Moore almost gagged at the smell.

"Is that _flesh?"_ He said, aghast.

"Central nervous system," the Doctor said. He brought it to his nose and sniffed. Then he darted his tongue out to taste it. Mr. Moore _did _gag. "Just as I thought. It's not _real. _Well, real in the sense that it's organic. It's artificially grown and implanted into the suit so that it can move and act like a living thing."

"I thought you said it _was _a living thing?" Mr. Moore asked.

"Well, technically," the Doctor said, removing the flesh from his fingers. "But it depends on your definition of "living," doesn't it? See, look here: an emotional inhibitor. Stops them from feeling anything. Would you really call something like that "alive?"

"But why?" Mr. Moore asked horrified. "Why would somebody want to remove emotions?"

"Because they hurt," the Doctor said simply. Mr. Moore couldn't refute that statement. He knew as well as anyone how much emotions hurt- the death of his parents, abandoning his sister. But despite the pain, despite the loss, never- _not once- _had he considered the possibility of living a life without his emotions. Those events defined him. They were what made him do what he did and why he did them so well.

"Doctor?" Mr. Moore said, realization dawning on him.

"Hm?" the Doctor hummed, not really paying attention.

"That thing's still got a human brain, doesn't it?" Mr. Moore deduced. The Doctor looked up at him, finally realizing that Mr. Moore might be about to say something useful.

"Yes, it does. Why?"

"You took away the thing that kept it from feeling anything," Mr. Moore said carefully. "You said that it removed emotions because they hurt, but what if it was also because Lumic had no choice?"

"I'm not sure I follow," the Doctor frowned, "And I can usually follow everything."

"Could you imagine?" Mr. Moore explained. "Being one of them? Realizing what you'd become? It'd be enough to drive any human-"

"Insane," the Doctor finished, looking at the emotional inhibitor in his hand. "Lumic didn't just remove their emotions out of choice. He did it out of necessity. The last thing he needed was an army of mad, metal, soldiers."

"Doctor, you're missing my point," Mr. Moore said softly, watching as one of the Cyberman's arms twitched. It was waking up. "It's waking up. It's waking up and you removed its emotional inhibitor."

The Doctor looked down, horrified.

"Where am I?" came a voice from the Cyberman. It sounded softer somehow. "Why am I so cold?"

"It can feel now," Mr. Moore said softly.

The Doctor gently touched it's head, the closest thing to stroking it as he could come. "I am sorry. I am so sorry."

"Why so cold?"

"Do you remember your name," the Doctor said gently. The Cyberman seemed to think for a moment.

"Sally. Sally Phelan."

"You're a woman," Mr. Moore said.

"Where's Gareth?" Sally asked. "Where is he? He can't see me. It's unlucky before the night before."

"You're getting married," Mr. Moore said softly.

"Why is everything so cold?" the woman responded.

"Sorry," the Doctor said, pointing his screwdriver at the suit. "You just sleep now, Sally. Sleep well."

The light in the suit's eyes died and Mr. Moore and the Doctor stood silently for a moment, respecting yet another life that had been lost. The Doctor finally said, Sally Phelan didn't die for nothing."

It dawned on him. 'Cos that's the key. The emotional inhibitor - if we could find the code behind it, the cancellation code or charm or whatever it is, then feed it throughout the system into every Cyberman's head..."

Mr. Moore nodded.

"They'd realize what they are." The Doctor finished. "I think- I think that just might kill them. Could we do that? Could we really kill them all?"

"We have to," Mr. Moore said simply, "Before they kill everybody else."

"You've never done it," the Doctor said harshly. "You've never killed another species- never committed genocide. It might sound simple, but pushing that button or pulling that trigger or entering that code- it's the hardest thing in the world, no matter what your reasoning-"

"It doesn't matter, Doctor," Mr. Moore retorted. "It has to be done!"

The Doctor looked angry, not for the first time that night. Humans. They were so eager to pull the trigger with the right justification. The Doctor wasn't saying that the justification wasn't there, there was always some form of justification. But even the most sound reasons and the most pure intentions in the world couldn't spare you from the guilt and horror that came from knowing you had destroyed another species, or even just one other life.

Why didn't they ever think about _that?_

Mr. Moore suddenly gave a strangled scream and then collapsed to the floor, dead. A Cyberman stood behind him, hand outstretched.

The Doctor shot up. "Why'd you do that? You didn't have to kill him!"

The Cyberman didn't say anything- of course it didn't. It had an emotional inhibitor. It would feel no guilt, no pain, no loss.

Nothing.

The darkest part of the Doctor's mind, the part that he tried so hard to bury underneath layers of jelly-babies and cricket balls and bananas, whispered softly that he envied the Cybermen. That, as much as he railed against them, as much as they went against his core set of values, the deepest part of him yearned to be able to abandon the guilt that had haunted him since the Time War.

But he knew he would never do that.

He knew that he _could _never do that.

"Sensors detect a binary vascular system." The Cyberman's voice broke into his musings. "You are an unknown upgrade. You will be taken for analysis."

The Doctor let himself be lead away by the Cyberman and the few others that had shown up, his disgust with them written all over his face.

He wasn't worried, though. Not one bit. "My friends," the Doctor whispered conspiratorially to the Cybermen, "Rose and Fred, they'll get me- Oh, never mind."

There they were. Rose and Fred. The were seated in the corner of the room, heads down and hands in their laps. They looked like two naughty school children.

"_Brilliant _rescue," the Doctor offered, as he sat down next to them.

Rose looked up and gave a small smile. "You think so? Just wait 'till you see the next bit we've got planned!"

"I look forward to it!" The Doctor chirped back. He grew serious. "You alright?"

Rose nodded jerkily. "Yea. You?"

The Doctor shrugged noncommittally. "Eh. Be better if I wasn't just felt up by a Cyberman, but I'll live. Lived with Jack for six months, didn't I?"

Rose gave him a weak smile, showing him that she wasn't as okay as she made out to be. "They got George. They took George and they changed him into one of those _things-"_

"He wasn't your George, Rose," the Doctor said quietly.

"Well, he was _somebody's," _Rose argued back heatedly, keeping her voice down. The Doctor said nothing. "Everybody else was gone, too. Mum, dad, Al, Lily, Sirius, James- all turned into Cybermen."

"We were too late," Fred said harshly. "He killed 'em all."

"So where is he then?" the Doctor asked, standing up to face the Cyberman. "Mr. Lumic. Come on! Don't we get to meet our lord and master?"

"He has been upgraded," the Cyberman intoned.

"So he's just like you, then," the Doctor whispered softly.

"He is superior. The Lumic Unit has been designated Cyber Controller."

The sound of sliding doors called their attention over to the side. The Doctor, Rose, and Fred all turned in time to watch Lumic slowly enter the room. He was seated on a chair that, Rose noted, had been elaborately decorated with all sorts of wires. It floated surprisingly delicately off the ground.

Fred stood up in amazement when he, too, realized that Lumic was now a Cyberman. "Bloody hell."

"Language," Rose chastised half-heartedly, still filled with some sort of horrified shock. Was this how her Uncle Harry had felt the first time he had seen what Voldemort had become thanks to his own greed?

"What the hell have you done?" Rose demanded, pulling out her wand.

"Magic will not help you. Magic has been neutralized throughout the city." Cyber-Lumic said. She would have said he sounded smug, but Cybermen couldn't feel.

She kept her wand out, although she lowered it, knowing it wouldn't help. The same technology Lumic had used at the party was in effect all over the city. His entire operation was now running completely on Muggle technology. It had to be. It's a good thing Hugo was an expert. She felt the Doctor's hand on her arm, restraining her, probably having worked out that magic wouldn't help her here.

And what was a witch without magic?

Not much, to be honest.

But Rose wasn't just a witch. She was Weasley. And out there, somewhere, Hugo was doing Merlin knows what to try and stop Lumic and she was going to help him, magic or not. And if there was one thing Weasley women could do, it was talk.

"I have done what no other has," Cyber-Lumic said. "This is the Age of Steel and I am it's creator."

"You're a lunatic is what you are," Rose said finally.

"Rose-" the Doctor warned.

"No, I'm serious," Rose snapped. "I really want to know. Did you _notice _when you started falling off the deep end, or did you just wake up one morning, look in the mirror, and say, "Oh look! I've gone mad!'"

"I-"

"I mean what the hell is with this quest for immortality!" Rose said, her grief and anger making her just a bit more brave and foolish than was reasonable. "First Voldemort tries, and all he ends up with is a face that looks like he ran into a window and got stuck that way. And then there's _you_, who looks like a robot with self-confidence issues!"

"Who is Voldemort?" Lumic asked finally. Rose scowled and was about to go off on another rant, when the Doctor stuck his hand over her mouth.

"I think you're missing the point," he said calmly. "Rose was just saying that-"

He was cut off by the screams coming from downstairs. The Doctor grinned madly as the Cybermen looked around.

"That'd be my friends at work. Good show by them, don't you think? I think that's a vote for free will!"

"I have stations on seven continents. No matter if the ear-pods fall. Cybermen will take the world by force. I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace and unity and uniformity will reign."

"And what about imagination, hm?" the Doctor demanded. "The one thing that got you here. Where's that gone? You're killing it stone dead!"

"What is your name?" Cyber-Lumic asked.

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said firmly.

"A useless title. Doctors are not needed. _Healers _are not needed. Cybermen never get ill."

"Oh, that's the point, Lumic!" The Doctor said eagerly. "You're a clever man- I'd call you a genius, but I'm in the room. You've got this whole operation up and running without magic. This whole thing- just to fight your sickness! It's brilliant! It's _so _human! But then what? Once that's all done, what's there to strive for? Nothing. You'll be stuck like this."

"You, Doctor, you're proud of your emotions?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor said softly.

"So you've felt grief, pain, loss?" Cyber-Lumic continued.

"Yes," the Doctor said again.

"I could give you a life free from those things. Free from all that pain. What do you say to that?"

"I say that you might as well _kill _me," the Doctor said harshly. Those words struck him a bit too close, Rose could tell. She knew that he still felt the guilt from the Time War. She had been woken up by his screams as he had nightmares more than once.

She knew that he'd never be free of it, and it killed him sometimes. However, she knew he was the Doctor, and he would never _let _himself be free of it, even if he had the choice. Not just because the Doctor was a _good _person and would never do something so wrong. He also thought it was his punishment, his retribution for what he did. Never mind the fact that the rest of the universe would have been destroyed. This guilt was his punishment and he felt that he had no choice but to bear it.

"I take that option," Cyber-Lumic said after a moment's contemplation.

Rose moved to stand in front of the Doctor, wand held out. "I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think he was giving you that option. You're a _Cyber _controller. You don't get to control anything with blood in it's heart- or hearts, I guess- and you _don't _get to touch the Doctor. You hear me?"

_"_Magic is ineffective. You will not be able to stop me. I have an army."

"Your army won't get you anywhere! Don't you get it?" Rose snapped. "Ordinary people! Men, women, brothers, sisters, mums, dads... They're the ones who can change the world!"

"Rose is right," the Doctor said quickly, sidestepping to stand in front of her again. She scowled at him. "Considering the technology your using, it's so easy even a Muggle could do it!"

"Isn't that from an insurance commercial?" Fred asked from his seat behind them.

"I just meant," the Doctor said with an eye roll, "All it takes is for the right _idiot _to find the right numbers or the right code, like, say, for the emotional inhibitor. 'Cos it's right in front of him, since _every _idiot knows how to use a computer these days. Especially if this idiot knows how to bypass a magical signature check."

Rose looked at the Doctor as though he were insane (which he was, she supposed), but then he nudged her gently and looked up towards the ceiling. She subtly followed his gaze and saw a security camera.

She still wasn't quite sure what was happening, but the next thing she knew the Doctor was rambling on about phones and codes and binary 9.

A moment later, the Doctor had pulled out her cellphone from her pocket and jammed it into a port. It fit perfectly.

When asked what happened next, all Rose would be able to say was that all hell broke lose. Cybermen clutched their heads and moaned as a single code flashed on the screen of every computer.

The Cybermen moaned and one of them, catching sight of it's reflection, gently touched the mirror and whimpered. Rose felt a lump grow in her throat and found that she suddenly couldn't talk through it.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said for her.

Fred jumped backwards as the head of one of the Cybermen next to him exploded. Lumic floated closer to them. Rose had a feeling he would have been furious had he any feelings left.

"What have you done?"

"I gavem them back their souls," the Doctor said fiercely, "And, as you can see, it's killing them! They can't stand what they've become."

Then the Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her away, Fred following. Behind her, she could hear Lumic shouting "Delete! Delete! Delete!"

They were running, though, and they didn't look back. The Doctor lead them through the factory, narrowly avoiding several different explosions, looking for a way out. They tried every door they reached, but they were all closed.

Rose's phone rang and she reached for it instinctively.

"Is now really the time?" The Doctor snapped, as he tried another door, only to be greeted by a group of Cybermen. "Sorry! Didn't mean to bother you!"

The Doctor slammed the door in their faces and Rose picked up the phone, realizing that it was Hugo. She didn't even have a chance to say hello before he was talking to her, the static echoing loudly through the phone.

"Rose? Rose are you there?"

"Hugo?" She panted as she ran. "What in _Merlin's _name did you do? All hell broke loose!"

"I did what the Doctor told me to," Hugo defended. "Listen: head for the roof!"

"The roof?" Rose asked. "How are we supposed to get there?"

"I've disabled the magical inhibitors. You should be able to apparate. Have Fred bring you up. Does he know what it looks like?"

"Fred," Rose demanded, pulling at his shoulder as they ran, "You ever been to the roof?"

"This one?" Fred asked. "Once, when George and I were scoping out the place. Why?"

"Hugo managed to disable the magical inhibitors-"

"Good man!" the Doctor beamed.

"-he says to get to the roof. Can you apparate us-"

Fred pulled out his wand and grabbed Rose and the Doctor. He turned several times and took a firm step forward. Rose let out a gasp as she suddenly found herself on the roof of the power plant.

"-there?" Rose finished weakly.

The Doctor scowled at Fred. "Some warning would have been nice!"

Fred looked indignant and Rose went to soothe him. "Ignore him. He said the same thing to me when I took us to the Chula Warship during World War II."

"I have a feeling that would make me feel better if I had understood a word of it," Fred muttered. "What in the name of-"

Rose gaped incredulously at the zeppelin floating high above the ceiling. She brought the phone to hear ear again. "Hugo, do you know how to fly that thing?"

"It's just like flying a broom- sort of." He said after a moment.

"You can barely _stay _on a broom, let alone fly one!"

"Well, it's a good thing it's only _sort of _like a broom, isn't it? Now hurry up and get in here! I don't know where the breaks are- oh." His voice became a bit distant as he called over to Jackie. "Jackie, is this little piece supposed to fall off?"

"Right," Rose called, "To the zeppelin!"

"Can he fly that thing?" The Doctor asked, as they made their way towards it, heading towards the ladder that he had dropped from the cockpit.

"Of course he can!" Rose said too quickly. The Doctor thought about saying something, but decided that he was too out of breath to argue. He let Rose climb up first, and then followed, Fred taking up the rear.

She heard Hugo say something over the intercom, but couldn't make it out over the explosions that racked the lab below them. Rose couldn't help but laugh in giddy relief. "We're going to make it!"

The Doctor laughed with her, but they both should have known better. Rose let out a scream as the ladder gave a jerk. Rose looked down to see Fred struggling with hanging on, but, even more importantly, she saw Lumic holding tightly to the bottom of the ladder.

Fred was trying to make his way higher up the ladder, but Lumic's grip was jerking the ropes too much. Rose pulled her wand out of her sleeve.

"This is for everybody who died tonight!"

With aim that surprised even her, she shot a Severing Charm at the rope. It took less than a split second for the rope carrying Lumic to fall down towards the factory.

Along with a piece of Fred's shoe.

"Ow!" Fred cursed as the charm nicked his foot. Rose looked down at at him sheepishly.

"Sorry!" She called. "You alright down there?"

"I'll survive," Fred called back, climbing the ladder with much more ease now. He wiggled his now bare toes. "All ten toes still here! Shame, too. A few more inches up and I could have saved half off on shoes!"

The joke wasn't that funny, but Rose was still on some sort of adrenaline rush, and giggled loudly. Looking down at the Doctor, she noticed that he, too, was laughing, but at her exuberance more than Fred's quip.

The three of them scrambled up the rest of the ladder, climbing up the rest of the way. Once inside the cockpit, Rose threw her arms around her brother, who was at the wheel. He couldn't hug her back, but he did manage to nudge her with his hip.

When it became clear that she wasn't going to let go of him anytime soon, he muttered, "Rose, I love you and I'm glad you're okay, too, but I can't exactly drive this thing and you aren't helping-"

"Move," Fred ordered immediately, pushing Hugo to the side and taking control of the steering mechanism. At this, Hugo turned around and returned Rose's hug as the Doctor directed Fred's flying him, getting him to park by the TARIDS.

It didn't take very long for the group (the Doctor, Rose, Hugo, Jackie, and Fred) to all climb out of the zeppelin. The Doctor headed straight for the TARDIS, power-cell in hand, but Rose and Hugo stayed behind.

While Hugo talked to Jackie, Rose struck up conversation with Fred.

"You never told me who you are," Fred said quietly, watching as the Doctor entered the TARDIS, no doubt wondering what was inside, but too afraid to ask and maybe find out for himself.

"We did! There's Hugo and I'm Rose and he's-"

"The Doctor," Fred nodded, "But _who _are you? All of this stuff- aliens, different worlds. It's mental, which is saying something coming from me! But you lot, you act like it's normal!"

"It sort of is," Rose said with a soft smile, "When you travel with the Doctor. And it's like you say. Imagine there are these different worlds. _Parallel _worlds. A world where George is still alive. Where Ron and Hermione are still alive...and their daughter..."

Fred caught on immediately. Of course he did. "So you and Hugo- your Hugo- weren't lying."

"No, not really," Rose said quietly.

"And, now that this is all over, you're going to go home?"

"For a bit, yea," Rose said hesitantly.

"Back to your family," Fred said bitterly. "My family is all gone. All dead. Lumic's factories are still out there and somebody's got to go and shut them down. Keep the government running. But you, you and the Doctor and Hugo, you get to go home to your perfect little world and see your family-_my family-"_

"Our world is far from perfect!" Rose protested, grabbing at his sleeve as he turned away. "Just listen-"

"Forget it. I have to go." He broke from her grasp as the Doctor approached. She turned back to the Doctor after watching Fred stalk off to Jackie.

"We'll never know, will we?" Rose asked the Doctor, not turning to face him.

"Know what?"

"Why George did it. If he meant for all that to happen."

"No, we won't."

Rose didn't say anything for a long while. It was the Doctor who broke the silence between them.

"Ready to go?" He asked her simply. Rose nodded. "Hugo is already inside."

It was nice, Rose decided, to be back in the TARDIS after such a trying adventure. The interior of the ship, it's gentle lighting (dimmed slightly, probably due to the lack of power it had been suffering), it's soothing hum- all were home to her by now.

"So," the Doctor asked, "Your place for some tea and Al's mediocre cooking, and then onto time and space?"

"Actually, I think I'll skip the time and space bit," Hugo said. His voice was firm, but nervous. "It's time for me to go back home."

The Doctor nodded, accepting Hugo's answer, and turned to dial in the coordinates. His back turned on them to give the siblings a bit of privacy, Rose frowned and turned to Hugo, speaking quietly.

"Why?"

"After all this, Rose, I need to go home," Hugo said quietly. "Make a name for myself. Stop being the tin-dog. This whole thing proved that there might just be a place for a guy like me in the Wizarding World."

"But-"

"And I need to see them, Rose," Hugo said, cutting her off. "Our family. Tonight reminded me what our parents have known for ages since the war: we don't get to choose how long we're giving. I'm going to take what I've got and not waste a second."

Rose felt the familiar churning of guilt in her stomach, the one that arose whenever she realized that she had all but abandoned her family in favor of traveling with the Doctor, and _lied _to them for fear if they knew the truth, they'd make her stop.

"Don't," Hugo said gently and, in that moment, he looked so much older and wiser that Rose wondered when her little brother had grown up, "You've got the Doctor. He's your family now- and that's alright. Everybody leaves the nest sometime."

Hugo smiled, a beaming, slightly goofy grin that was reminiscent of his father and showed Rose that everything would be okay. "You're just going a bit further than most."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: That's it! End of those two episodes. Next? A tag to Doomsday, and then that's it! I'm already working on the sequel, so hopefully that will be fun. This story is currently posted on Livejournal (same username; the link is on my profile), if you'd prefer that to . Up to you :) Thanks for being patient with me while I worked on catching up to my schoolwork and getting my health back on track. I feel better than I have in a while!<strong>

**Happy Thanksgiving (For anybody who celebrates it).**

**tinyrose65**


	20. Super Temp To The Rescue!

As the image of Rose cut off, the Doctor's words died in his throat. She was gone. The worlds were sealed off that was it. He could hear the sounds of Al and Hugo mourning behind him, but made no movement to turn around or comfort them, too lost in his own grief.

The Battle of Canary Warf had shaken the four of them. The Doctor had been ready and willing to send them all to the Parallel World for safety, but they had all returned, Hugo and Al mainly for the reason that their families were _here, _on _this _side of the Void. Rose, however, had told him quietly that she was never going to leave him.

But she had.

Oh, if she had held onto that lever for just a few more seconds-

Not enough time. _Never _enough time. Since the moment they met, that metaphorical clock had been ticking down the seconds they had together. So he never looked at what they had. He never questioned it, never touched it. And, just as he had come to accept it, just as he had come to embrace what his pink and yellow human had done to him, to all his barriers, to his hearts...

Time's up.

The Curse of the Time-Lords he had called it.

Oh, sure, he had known about it. Experienced it. Even accepted it, to some degree. But never had he felt his pain as acutely as he did now.

It wasn't fair.

Life wasn't fair. Oh, he'd known that, too. But for a brief, sparkling, moment, he had thought that the Universe had been doing him a favor, bringing Rose Weasley into his life. She had saved him, in more ways then one. Reminded him of why he traveled in the first place, brought new friends into his life: Jack, Al, and even Hugo.

He had known from the first day he had seen her, standing pressed to the wall in the shop, surrounded by autons, that she was special. He had known from the moment that she had noticed the London Eye that she was companion material.

It wasn't until that day in Van Staten's bunker that he had realized that she was truly different. That dreadful day, Rose Weasley had managed to change the heart of a Dalek and, more importantly, that was the day that he had realized that she had managed to heal the hearts of the last Time-Lord in existence.

And it terrified him.

Just as it had terrified Al and Hugo.

Al watched, hugging his younger cousin close and trying to be strong, but unable to stop his own tears, as a lone tear fell from the Doctor's eyes. The Doctor didn't bother to wipe it away.

Had Al known, that day he sent his cousin off with the Doctor, what would happen to her, would he have changed his actions?

Probably not.

Rose had never seemed happier than she was with the Doctor. He remembered the image of her standing on the beach, looking up at him through her tears.

_"When you go back home, when you tell mum and dad, tell them that I love them and that I'll miss them so much, but tell them that I wouldn't change a thing. Even if I'm stuck here 'till the day I die, those days with the Doctor were the best of my life."_

Had he known that Rose would fall in love with an alien (and yes, she had loved him, any idiot with eyes could have seen that) and, one day, give up everything for him, would he have let her go?

Probably. Because it was what she would have wanted.

And Albus knew that the Doctor had finally shown Rose the person that she was meant to be. After so many years of being held down by Jimmy, and her family's expectations, and her own self-doubt, the Doctor had helped her grow and shown her that she was so much more than just another Weasley.

And Albus _knew _that just as the Doctor had helped Rose, Rose had helped the Doctor. She had _saved _the Doctor. He remembered the man they had first met (brooding, dark, angry at the world), with the man he knew now-a different regeneration, but the same man, but so different (happy, manic, and excited).

Without Rose, Al wondered, what would happen to the Doctor? He was a Time-Lord. He had almost infinite-powers of time and space. Before, he had the Time-Lords to keep his actions in check. Then, he had Rose. And now, he had nobody and he was mad with grief.

Who would stop him?

It wouldn't be he or Hugo, Al knew. They loved the Doctor, honestly they did, and saw him as a member of the family. Al liked to think that, for a while, the Doctor had let himself think that he was a member of the family, too.

But Al knew the Doctor well enough to know that no matter how much he loved them, no matter how much he would miss them, if they stayed it would be nothing more than a painful reminder of how much he missed Rose.

How much he _loved _Rose.

So Al knew, and he was sure that Hugo knew, too, that, once they were dropped off back home, they would never see the Doctor again.

The Doctor knew it, too. Of course he did. The Doctor had known from the moment he said goodbye to Rose that he was done. Done with companions. Done with watching people whither and die and grow old. He had seen Sarah Jane and it had almost killed him. So, once he brought Hugo and Al back home, he was off.

Back to the same old life, in the TARDIS, alone.

Always alone, in the end.

He took a deep breath and turned to ask Hugo and Al if they were ready to go. They might not be, right away, the Doctor thought. It might take them another few days to come to terms with everything well enough to tell the full story to their family.

If they needed that few days, the Doctor would gladly give it to them. They had had so little time with to stay goodbye to their sister in the first place, and he had taken precious minutes away from them. He had taken them and wasted them.

He was a bastard.

He was also hallucinating, he decided, because, behind Hugo and Al, he could make out the form of a red-headed woman (lucky girl, he thought ruefully), wearing all white. She turned around and the Doctor realized that, no, he was not imagining things.

"What?" The Doctor demanded, squinting his eyes in confusion.

Al and Hugo, realizing that the Doctor was looking confused at something behind them and turned to see a bride standing in the middle of the TARDIS.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"What?" Al asked, sounding surprisingly like the Doctor.

"Where am I?"

Hugo just gaped.

"What the hell is going on?" The woman screeched.

"What?" The Doctor asked for the final time.

And that was how the Doctor, Hugo, and Al were thrown into incredible circumstances before they even had a chance to accept what had happened to Rose. There was an almost-wedding, killer Christmas tree ornaments, running, giant spiders, and, of course, saving the world from an alien hell-bent on mass destruction.

A normal Christmas for the three of them, really.

The Doctor stood outside of the TARDIS with Donna, Hugo and Al having gone back inside after declining her offer for dinner. Donna laughed at the snow fell around her.

"So, what do you say?" the Doctor asked, allowing himself a small smile.

"To what?" Donna asked, oblivious.

"Want to come?" the Doctor explained, completely cognizant of the fact that he had gone back on his promise of no more companions before he had even started.

"With you and Al and Hugo?" Donna asked blankly. "In there?"

"Well," the Doctor said hesitantly, "I think Al and Hugo might be going home soon. So it'd be just me and you."

Donna didn't say anything for a moment, just watching the Doctor shrewdly.

"I can't," Donna said finally. The Doctor nodded in acceptance, but Donna continued. "You scare me. You just made it snow! But in there, with that spider thing, you just stood there and watched her scream. You killed her and her _children, _Doctor. You need somebody to stop you, and I'm not that person."

"I understand," the Doctor said after a moment, doing his best not to acknowledge the truth in her words.

"Is that what she did?" Donna asked gently. The Doctor hadn't even realized that Donna knew how to be gentle. "Your friend. The one you lost. Did she stop you?"

"Yes," the Doctor said truthfully.

"What was her name?"

"Rose," the Doctor said softly. "Her name was Rose."

"I think you need her, Doctor," Donna said after a moment.

The Doctor swallowed hard and shook his head. She was right. Donna Noble might have been many things, but she wasn't stupid. Oh sure, she might not have known where India was on a map or that her boyfriend was a homicidal maniac, but she was quick, the Doctor had learned. Not to mention that uncanny intuition all Earth women seemed to posses.

"It doesn't matter whether or not I need her. She's gone."

"She's not dead, though."

"No, but I can't get her back."

"Did you love her?" Donna demanded. The Doctor felt his hearts drop to his stomach.

"What?"

"It's a simple question, Doctor. Did you. Love her?"

"Donna-"

"Answer the question!" Donna snapped, obviously not in the mood to be patient. The Doctor couldn't blame her. It had been a long night, to say the least.

"Yes! Yes I did! I still do!" The Doctor said quickly, slightly afraid of being slapped again.

"Well, then go get her." The way Donna said it made it sound so easy, as if it were the only course of action.

"It's not that simple, Donna."

"Oh, I think it is," Donna said surely.

"I can't get her back, Donna. It's impossible."

"From what I've seen today, spaceman," Donna said, with more affection for him in her voice than the Doctor had even thought was possible, coming from her, "You're pretty darn good at impossible."

"I am," the Doctor realized.

"You are."

"I'm brilliant!"

"Don't get too carried away," Donna warned. The Doctor nodded and beamed hugely at her, giddiness making him feel light and bouncy.

"What can I do to thank you?"

"Come visit me once you've found her," Donna said seriously. "Anybody who can put up with you longer than a night is somebody worth meeting in my book."

"Yes, yes, of course!" The Doctor nodded, about ready to agree to anything she said. Donna Noble was the most important woman in the universe, right now.

At least to him.

Donna stared at him for a while, hands on her hips, the Doctor continuing to smile at her obliviously. Finally, she let out an exasperated sigh.

"What are you waiting for?" She snapped, out of patience.

"What am I-"

"Go get her!'

"Ah, yes right!" The Doctor nodded, running to the TARDIS. "Molto bene! Allons-y! And all that!"

Donna watched and shook her head exasperatedly as the Doctor dashed through the doors. Right before they closed, though, he stuck his head out and smiled gratefully at her.

"Thank-you, Donna Noble." He said simply. "I'll see you soon."

With that, the Doctor shut the doors behind him and bounced to the controls of the TARDIS, beginning to set the coordinates that would take them back in the Vortex. Al and Hugo watched him for a moment, not sure what to say.

Hugo was the first to break the silence. "I guess you're taking us home now?"

The Doctor frowned and looked at him. "Why would I do that?"

"We have to tell our family what happened," Al explained, as though talking to a child, which, he supposed, the Doctor sometimes was.

"Oh, no you don't." The Doctor informed them cheerfully. "We're bringing Rose home."

"We're-" Al stuttered. "But _how?"_

_"_Oh, I'll think of something," the Doctor said easily, even though he knew the matter would not be easy in the least. Still, he would do it. Donna had reminded him that he was the Doctor and he was brilliant.

"But what about worlds imploding-"

"We can work around that."

"Laws of the universe-" Hugo tried. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Since when do I follow rules? And besides, I've spent most of my life keeping this sorry universe around. I reckon it owes me a few favors."

"So you mean it, then?" Al asked, barely daring to hope. "We're getting Rose back?"

"I won't rest until I do," the Doctor vowed seriously.

Outside, Donna watched as the TARDIS began to fade in and out of existence. Even though she knew he couldn't hear her, she gave the Doctor some final words to remember her by, because she knew things wouldn't be nearly as easy as she told him they would be. He was the Doctor, after all. One night with him and she knew that he couldn't go anywhere without finding trouble.

"Good luck, Doctor," she said simply. "I have a feeling you're going to need every, last, bit of it."

Almost as though it were acknowledging her words and agreeing with them, the TARDIS materialized one last time and gave a final wheeze.

Then, she disappeared into the night and out of time itself.

_END OF PART 1_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And that's it, I guess! It feels so weird to be finished with this part of the story... I'm hard at work on the sequel: Clarke's First Law (Yes, I am aware that I am out of order. No need to rub it in!) so that should be up soon. In the meantime, have a great rest of the week!<strong>

**Reviews make me smile :-)**

**tinyrose65**


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